Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Shares Sold by Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lessened its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 387,464 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 16,490 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $22,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,084 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 4,146 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Rio Tinto Group in the third quarter valued at about $232,000. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 103.7% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,582 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 5,896 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 26.7% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,641 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401 shares during the last quarter. 19.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rio Tinto Group Trading Down 6.5 %

RIO opened at $54.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.47, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $61.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.81. Rio Tinto Group has a 12 month low of $53.96 and a 12 month high of $74.24.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $2.23 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 7%. This is a positive change from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Rio Tinto Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RIO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Clarkson Capital raised shares of Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Rio Tinto Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, DZ Bank raised Rio Tinto Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group 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.