Maven Securities LTD Sells 44,735 Shares of Rio Tinto PLC $RIO

Key Points

• Maven Securities LTD has sold 44,735 shares of Rio Tinto PLC, reducing its stake by 45.6% in the first quarter, resulting in holdings worth $3,207,000.
• Rio Tinto recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $1.48, with a yield of 620.0%, scheduled for distribution on September 25th.
• Several analysts maintain a "hold" or "buy" rating for Rio Tinto, with an average target price of $73.00 and the stock experiencing a recent decline of 1.5% to open at $60.35.

Maven Securities LTD cut its holdings in Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO - Free Report) by 45.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,377 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 44,735 shares during the period. Maven Securities LTD's holdings in Rio Tinto were worth $3,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in RIO. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Rio Tinto by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,368,620 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $502,787,000 after buying an additional 326,661 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Rio Tinto by 77,150.0% in the 1st quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 7,416,000 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $445,553,000 after buying an additional 7,406,400 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Rio Tinto by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,938,247 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $116,510,000 after buying an additional 490,357 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Rio Tinto by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,663,964 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $99,971,000 after buying an additional 60,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Rio Tinto by 143,872.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,264,081 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $74,341,000 after buying an additional 1,263,203 shares in the last quarter. 19.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Rio Tinto from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Rio Tinto from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rio Tinto currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RIO traded up $1.3460 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $62.6460. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,966,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,320,682. Rio Tinto PLC has a 12-month low of $51.67 and a 12-month high of $72.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Rio Tinto Cuts Dividend

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

Rio Tinto 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.