Bailard Inc. Sells 1,126 Shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Bailard Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,537 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 1,126 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 49.1% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 820 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 10.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 693,102 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $49,328,000 after acquiring an additional 67,213 shares during the period. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. increased its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 11.7% during the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 4,165 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,261 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Rio Tinto Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on RIO shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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. Four equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Up 0.8 %

RIO opened at $61.04 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.63. Rio Tinto Group has a twelve month low of $57.85 and a twelve month high of $74.24. The firm has a market cap of $76.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.46, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.65.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $2.23 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend 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.