Traders Purchase Large Volume of Rio Tinto Call Options (NYSE:RIO)

Key Points

• Rio Tinto experienced a staggering increase in call options trading, with 195,145 call options purchased, marking a 3,689% increase over its average daily volume.
• The company's stock price has decreased by 1.8%, trading at $62.40, despite a market capitalization of $78.25 billion.
• Rio Tinto declared a semi-annual dividend of $1.48, scheduled for payment on September 25th, offering a dividend yield of 620.0%.

Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 195,145 call options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseofapproximately3,689% compared to the average daily volume of 5,150 call options.

Rio Tinto Trading Down 1.8%

RIO stock traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $62.40. 1,773,373 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,364,441. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $59.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $78.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 0.64. Rio Tinto has a one year low of $51.67 and a one year high of $72.08.

Rio Tinto Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Rio Tinto

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RIO. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $445,553,000 after purchasing an additional 7,406,400 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rio Tinto in the second quarter valued at about $292,770,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $74,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263,203 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Rio Tinto in the second quarter valued at about $49,089,000. Finally, Dynamo Internacional Gestao DE Recursos LTDA. lifted its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto by 119.2% in the fourth quarter. Dynamo Internacional Gestao DE Recursos LTDA. now owns 129,804 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $2,423,000 after purchasing an additional 807,610 shares in the last quarter. 19.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RIO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Rio Tinto from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Rio Tinto from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

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.

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