Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO) Receives $81.00 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $81.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on RIO shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Rio Tinto from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Rio Tinto from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Rio Tinto to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. DZ Bank cut shares of Rio Tinto from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Rio Tinto from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th.

Rio Tinto Stock Performance

RIO opened at $89.82 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $92.36 and its 200-day moving average is $78.03. Rio Tinto has a 52-week low of $51.67 and a 52-week high of $101.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Rio Tinto Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $2.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a yield of 564.0%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rio Tinto

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,642,744 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,572,009,000 after buying an additional 522,576 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rio Tinto by 0.4% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,496,126 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $320,589,000 after buying an additional 20,138 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Rio Tinto by 170.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,886,335 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $311,023,000 after acquiring an additional 2,451,140 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Rio Tinto by 31.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,157,545 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $208,430,000 after acquiring an additional 763,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Rio Tinto by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,221,469 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $177,784,000 after acquiring an additional 175,833 shares during the last quarter. 19.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a global mining and metals company that explores for, mines, processes and markets a wide range of commodities. Its principal products include iron ore, aluminum, copper, diamonds and various other minerals and industrial materials. The company’s activities span the full value chain from exploration and project development to mining, processing, smelting and refining, supplying raw materials to industries such as steelmaking, automotive, packaging, electronics and construction.

The origins of Rio Tinto date back to mining operations in the Rio Tinto region of Spain in the 19th century, and the group has since grown into a multinational enterprise.