Cetera Investment Advisers Sells 34,590 Shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Cetera Investment Advisers trimmed its position in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO - Free Report) by 32.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,818 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 34,590 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $4,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 8,113 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC raised its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,886 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 500 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cohen Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,352 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 19.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Performance

RIO traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $62.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,612,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,850,069. The stock has a market cap of $78.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Rio Tinto Group has a twelve month low of $51.67 and a twelve month high of $74.24.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $2.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 7%. This is an increase from Rio Tinto Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. Rio Tinto Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Rio Tinto Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered Rio Tinto Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Rio Tinto Group in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Rio Tinto Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rio Tinto Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.00.

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.