Marshall Wace LLP Invests $419,000 in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 7,126 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RIO. Palliser Capital UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Palliser Capital UK Ltd now owns 989,417 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $58,188,000 after purchasing an additional 674,117 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Rio Tinto Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,606,000. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in shares of Rio Tinto Group during the 4th quarter worth about $20,026,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 24.6% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 113.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 471,400 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $27,723,000 after acquiring an additional 250,800 shares during the last quarter. 19.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Rio Tinto Group stock opened at $59.66 on Friday. Rio Tinto Group has a 52-week low of $51.67 and a 52-week high of $74.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.63. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.31. The firm has a market cap of $74.81 billion, a PE ratio of 9.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.66.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $2.23 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. Rio Tinto Group’s payout ratio is currently 69.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RIO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Rio Tinto Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Rio Tinto Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Rio Tinto Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

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.