Versant Capital Management Inc Raises Position in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO - Free Report) by 1,450.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,823 shares of the mining company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,383 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Rio Tinto Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,241,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Rio Tinto Group in the fourth quarter worth $360,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 225.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 335,637 shares of the mining company's stock worth $23,888,000 after purchasing an additional 232,539 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 32,258 shares of the mining company's stock worth $1,890,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Rio Tinto Group in the fourth quarter worth $432,000. 19.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Clarkson Capital raised shares of Rio Tinto Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE RIO traded up $0.15 during trading on Monday, hitting $59.58. The company had a trading volume of 4,740,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,900,009. The company's fifty day moving average is $59.40 and its 200-day moving average is $60.79. Rio Tinto Group has a one year low of $51.67 and a one year high of $72.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $74.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.73.

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.