Farther Finance Advisors LLC Acquires 948 Shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) by 41.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,238 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,426 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 17,580 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Solitude Financial Services raised its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Solitude Financial Services now owns 9,150 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 1,750 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Rio Tinto Group during the fourth quarter worth $256,000. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 19,841 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RIO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. Clarkson Capital raised shares of Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:RIO opened at $63.88 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.85. Rio Tinto Group has a 12 month low of $57.85 and a 12 month high of $74.24.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $2.23 per share. This is a boost from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. This represents a dividend yield of 7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Rio Tinto Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.15%.

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.