Morgan Stanley Upgrades Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) to “Overweight”

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO – Get Rating) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, The Fly reports.

RIO has been the topic of several other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Rio Tinto Group from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. BNP Paribas cut Rio Tinto Group from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. CLSA upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from an underperform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from a buy rating to a conviction-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $5,790.00.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RIO opened at $59.39 on Friday. Rio Tinto Group has a 1-year low of $50.92 and a 1-year high of $80.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.07.

Rio Tinto Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 9.8%.

Institutional Trading of Rio Tinto Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Toroso Investments LLC grew its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 169,911 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $11,655,000 after acquiring an additional 10,655 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group in the first quarter valued at $423,000. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC acquired a new position in Rio Tinto Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,744,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 300,899 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $20,641,000 after purchasing an additional 18,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 4.8% during the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,808 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. 10.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rio Tinto Group Company Profile

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Rio Tinto Plc engages in the exploration, mining, and processing of mineral resources. It operates through the following business segments: Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper and Diamonds, Energy and Minerals, and Other Operations. The Iron Ore segment supplies global seaborne iron ore trade. The Aluminium segment produces bauxite, alumina and primary aluminum.