Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Cuts Position in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,419 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 2,599 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $1,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,604,463 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,035,319,000 after buying an additional 76,368 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,115,476 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $300,841,000 after buying an additional 70,131 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted 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 worth $101,253,000 after buying an additional 339,924 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,603,037 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $94,275,000 after buying an additional 255,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 143,872.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,264,081 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $74,341,000 after buying an additional 1,263,203 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on RIO. StockNews.com downgraded Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Rio Tinto Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Clarkson Capital upgraded Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:RIO opened at $62.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $78.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $59.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.08. Rio Tinto Group has a 1 year low of $51.67 and a 1 year high of $74.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 7%. This is an increase from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. Rio Tinto Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.15%.

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.