Ieq Capital LLC Cuts Holdings in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Ieq Capital LLC decreased its position in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) by 38.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,226 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 3,844 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $366,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 36,921 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 9,591 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 286,375 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $16,842,000 after purchasing an additional 15,031 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 94,650 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $5,566,000 after purchasing an additional 9,107 shares during the last quarter. Raelipskie Partnership raised its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 10,715 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 30,760 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,874,000 after buying an additional 2,254 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on RIO shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Rio Tinto Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group Price Performance

NYSE RIO opened at $60.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $76.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.65. Rio Tinto Group has a 52 week low of $57.85 and a 52 week high of $74.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.90.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $2.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. This represents a yield of 7%. Rio Tinto Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.15%.

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.