Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Makes New $4.81 Million Investment in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 72,957 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,810,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 0.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 39,964 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,547,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 55.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 415 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Optas LLC raised its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 4.2% during the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,997 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $989,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 7,304 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on RIO. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. HSBC raised shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Rio Tinto Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Rio Tinto Group Price Performance

RIO opened at $71.20 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.83. Rio Tinto Group has a twelve month low of $59.35 and a twelve month high of $75.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Rio Tinto Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th.

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.