American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 10,977 Shares of Rio Tinto PLC $RIO

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Rio Tinto PLC by 4.1%, acquiring an additional 10,977 shares, bringing their total to 280,047 shares valued at approximately $16.8 million.
• Several hedge funds significantly increased their positions in Rio Tinto, with Auto Owners Insurance Co. raising its stake by an extraordinary 77,150% during the same period.
• Deutsche Bank downgraded Rio Tinto shares from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, while the stock currently has an average price target of $73.00 according to analysts.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 280,047 shares of the mining company's stock after buying an additional 10,977 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Rio Tinto were worth $16,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Rio Tinto by 4.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,368,620 shares of the mining company's stock worth $502,787,000 after buying an additional 326,661 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Rio Tinto by 77,150.0% in the first quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 7,416,000 shares of the mining company's stock worth $445,553,000 after buying an additional 7,406,400 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Rio Tinto by 33.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,938,247 shares of the mining company's stock worth $116,510,000 after buying an additional 490,357 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Rio Tinto by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,603,037 shares of the mining company's stock worth $94,275,000 after buying an additional 255,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Rio Tinto by 143,872.8% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,264,081 shares of the mining company's stock worth $74,341,000 after buying an additional 1,263,203 shares during the last quarter. 19.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on RIO shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Berenberg Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Rio Tinto from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rio Tinto has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RIO traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $62.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,997,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,782,409. The company has a market capitalization of $78.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 0.64. Rio Tinto PLC has a 1 year low of $51.67 and a 1 year high of $72.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $60.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.37.

Rio Tinto Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a yield of 620.0%. Rio Tinto's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.74%.

Rio Tinto 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.