Saturna Capital Corp Sells 813 Shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Saturna Capital Corp decreased its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 82,915 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 813 shares during the period. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $4,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,093 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 6,473 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 2.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,528,095 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,247,475,000 after purchasing an additional 485,731 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Bancshares Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group in the third quarter valued at $1,440,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 225.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 335,637 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $23,888,000 after buying an additional 232,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Rio Tinto Group during the 4th quarter worth about $810,000. Institutional investors own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on RIO. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:RIO opened at $61.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $77.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.25 and a 200-day moving average of $62.88. Rio Tinto Group has a one year low of $57.85 and a one year high of $74.24.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $2.23 per share. This is a boost from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 7%. Rio Tinto Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.