Sapient Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 5,687 Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 5,687 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,732 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 111,623 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,464,344 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $284,111,000 after purchasing an additional 118,706 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 3,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 369,931 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $23,542,000 after purchasing an additional 14,083 shares during the period. 19.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on RIO. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Rio Tinto Group in a research report on Friday, January 12th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Liberum Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RIO opened at $65.99 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.99. Rio Tinto Group has a 12-month low of $58.27 and a 12-month high of $75.09.

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 given a $2.58 dividend. 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.

Rio Tinto Group 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.