Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley to “Equal Weight”

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Clarkson Capital upgraded Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Rio Tinto Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. DZ Bank raised shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE RIO traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $55.22. The company had a trading volume of 2,902,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,874,742. The stock has a market cap of $69.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.66. Rio Tinto Group has a 52 week low of $51.67 and a 52 week high of $74.24. The business’s 50-day moving average is $61.18 and its 200-day moving average is $62.48. 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 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 given a dividend of $2.23 per share. This is a boost from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 7%. Rio Tinto Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rio Tinto Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RIO. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,604,463 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,035,319,000 after buying an additional 76,368 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,115,476 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $300,841,000 after acquiring an additional 70,131 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,721,690 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $101,253,000 after acquiring an additional 339,924 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,603,037 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $94,275,000 after purchasing an additional 255,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 143,872.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,264,081 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $74,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263,203 shares in the last quarter. 19.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Rio Tinto Group

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.