Vontobel Holding Ltd. Acquires 4,488 Shares of Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO - Free Report) by 48.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,700 shares of the mining company's stock after buying an additional 4,488 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Rio Tinto were worth $823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of RIO. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Rio Tinto by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 84,154 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $4,949,000 after buying an additional 5,281 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Rio Tinto by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 81,888 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $4,816,000 after purchasing an additional 18,179 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Rio Tinto by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 63,782 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $3,751,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rio Tinto during the 4th quarter valued at $29,606,000. Finally, Freestone Capital Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Rio Tinto by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 6,581 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. 19.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RIO shares. Morgan Stanley lowered Rio Tinto from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Rio Tinto in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Rio Tinto from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Price Performance

NYSE RIO traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $58.94. The company had a trading volume of 4,409,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,051,176. Rio Tinto PLC has a 52 week low of $51.67 and a 52 week high of $72.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 0.66.

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.