Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO) Receives $81.00 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.00.

RIO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Rio Tinto from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Rio Tinto to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays lowered shares of Rio Tinto from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Rio Tinto from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of Rio Tinto from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th.

Rio Tinto Trading Down 2.4%

RIO stock opened at $87.65 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Rio Tinto has a 1-year low of $51.67 and a 1-year high of $101.53.

Rio Tinto Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $2.54 per share. This represents a yield of 564.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th.

Institutional Trading of Rio Tinto

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,642,744 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,572,009,000 after acquiring an additional 522,576 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Rio Tinto by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,496,126 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $320,589,000 after acquiring an additional 20,138 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Rio Tinto by 170.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,886,335 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $311,023,000 after acquiring an additional 2,451,140 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Rio Tinto by 31.9% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,157,545 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $208,430,000 after purchasing an additional 763,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Rio Tinto by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,221,469 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $177,784,000 after purchasing an additional 175,833 shares during the last quarter. 19.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a global mining and metals company that explores for, mines, processes and markets a wide range of commodities. Its principal products include iron ore, aluminum, copper, diamonds and various other minerals and industrial materials. The company’s activities span the full value chain from exploration and project development to mining, processing, smelting and refining, supplying raw materials to industries such as steelmaking, automotive, packaging, electronics and construction.

The origins of Rio Tinto date back to mining operations in the Rio Tinto region of Spain in the 19th century, and the group has since grown into a multinational enterprise.