Sandy Spring Bank Lowers Stock Position in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Sandy Spring Bank lessened its holdings in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,273 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RIO. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,567 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 30,275 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,155,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 79,333 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $5,646,000 after purchasing an additional 8,417 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Rio Tinto Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 132,141 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $9,404,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in Rio Tinto Group by 6.6% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 27,835 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,716 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on RIO shares. Clarkson Capital raised shares of Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE RIO opened at $62.02 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.85. The stock has a market cap of $77.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.60. Rio Tinto Group has a 12-month low of $57.85 and a 12-month high of $74.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $2.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 7%. This is a boost from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. Rio Tinto Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.15%.

Rio Tinto Group Company Profile

Rio Tinto Group engages in exploring, mining, and processing mineral resources worldwide. The company operates through Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper, and Minerals Segments. The Iron Ore segment engages in the iron ore mining, and salt and gypsum production in Western Australia. The Aluminum segment is involved in bauxite mining; alumina refining; and aluminium smelting.