New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $25.37 Million Stock Position in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) by 50.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 340,716 shares of the mining company’s stock after acquiring an additional 113,778 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $25,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 41.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,193,773 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,476,052,000 after acquiring an additional 6,748,799 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,464,344 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $284,111,000 after buying an additional 118,706 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 5.9% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,903,093 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $184,721,000 after buying an additional 161,532 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,893,222 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $120,485,000 after buying an additional 17,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 33.5% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 965,384 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $61,437,000 after buying an additional 242,313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Rio Tinto Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:RIO opened at $68.23 on Friday. Rio Tinto Group has a 52 week low of $58.27 and a 52 week high of $75.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.69. The company’s fifty day moving average is $64.86 and its 200-day moving average is $67.27.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $2.58 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on RIO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Liberum Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research note on Friday, January 12th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.00.

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.