Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) by 293.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 153,547 shares of the mining company’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,483 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $9,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 92,762 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $5,455,000 after purchasing an additional 6,539 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 166,826 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $9,811,000 after buying an additional 19,485 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 7,467 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Rio Tinto Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Sprott Inc. increased its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 77.7% during the fourth quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 8,922 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 3,901 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on RIO shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Down 1.3 %

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 stock has a market capitalization of $76.15 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.90.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $2.23 dividend. This is an increase from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. This represents a yield of 7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Rio Tinto Group’s 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.