Rio Tinto PLC $RIO Stake Reduced by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO) by 19.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 144,312 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 35,120 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Rio Tinto were worth $8,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of RIO. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Rio Tinto by 36.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,546 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Rio Tinto by 61.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 5,195 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Rio Tinto by 172.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,176 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Rio Tinto by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 118,221 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $7,120,000 after purchasing an additional 18,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Rio Tinto by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 55,131 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $3,312,000 after buying an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on RIO shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Rio Tinto from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Rio Tinto from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:RIO opened at $70.99 on Tuesday. Rio Tinto PLC has a twelve month low of $51.67 and a twelve month high of $71.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.89 and a 200-day moving average of $61.63.

Rio Tinto Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a yield of 620.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th.

About Rio Tinto

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.