Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Rio Tinto Group Call Options (NYSE:RIO)

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 106,876 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,654% compared to the average volume of 6,093 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rio Tinto Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Rio Tinto Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,604,463 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,035,319,000 after purchasing an additional 76,368 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,115,476 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $300,841,000 after purchasing an additional 70,131 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,721,690 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $101,253,000 after buying an additional 339,924 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 18.9% during 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 lifted its holdings in Rio Tinto Group 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 buying an additional 1,263,203 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Rio Tinto Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RIO opened at $63.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.63. Rio Tinto Group has a 52 week low of $57.85 and a 52 week high of $74.24. The firm has a market cap of $80.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $61.06 and its 200-day moving average is $62.89.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $2.23 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. Rio Tinto Group’s payout ratio is 69.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RIO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, Clarkson Capital upgraded Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group 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.