Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup downgraded Rio Tinto Group from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. HSBC raised shares of Rio Tinto Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Rio Tinto Group from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Berenberg Bank lowered Rio Tinto Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Rio Tinto Group to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rio Tinto Group has an average rating of Moderate Buy.

Rio Tinto Group Price Performance

NYSE:RIO opened at $63.67 on Wednesday. Rio Tinto Group has a 12-month low of $58.27 and a 12-month high of $75.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.92.

Rio Tinto Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RIO. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,838,524 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,849,476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,644,751 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Rio Tinto Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,045,541 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,194,751,000 after purchasing an additional 475,329 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 1.4% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,395,961 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $88,979,000 after purchasing an additional 19,334 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 296.2% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,022,765 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $71,382,000 after buying an additional 764,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 22.7% during the first quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 978,859 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $62,392,000 after buying an additional 180,874 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

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.