Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Shares Acquired by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,537 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,732 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 721,662 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $45,926,000 after buying an additional 111,623 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,464,344 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $284,111,000 after buying an additional 118,706 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 369,931 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $23,542,000 after buying an additional 14,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 404,189 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $25,723,000 after buying an additional 57,818 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Rio Tinto Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE RIO traded up $0.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $63.74. 3,253,986 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,827,217. Rio Tinto Group has a 12-month low of $58.27 and a 12-month high of $75.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.89.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a dividend of $2.58 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RIO. StockNews.com upgraded Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Rio Tinto Group in a report on Friday, January 12th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded Rio Tinto Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 5th. Finally, Liberum Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

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.