Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Shares Gap Up to $62.00

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $62.00, but opened at $63.51. Rio Tinto Group shares last traded at $63.27, with a volume of 440,056 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on RIO. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup downgraded Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Hsbc Global Res raised Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com raised Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Rio Tinto Group Trading Up 2.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $65.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.34.

Rio Tinto Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Rio Tinto Group’s payout ratio is 49.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,644,751 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 3.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 237.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,472,471 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $164,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738,752 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 1.4% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,395,961 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $88,979,000 after purchasing an additional 19,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 296.2% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,022,765 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $71,382,000 after purchasing an additional 764,635 shares in the last quarter. 19.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.