Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,700 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Rio Tinto Group in the second quarter valued at about $518,000. Creative Planning raised its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 76,747 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $5,060,000 after buying an additional 3,360 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 7.2% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 40,583 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,676,000 after buying an additional 2,728 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 22.0% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,240 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Rio Tinto Group in the second quarter valued at about $1,910,000. 19.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on RIO. StockNews.com cut Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RIO opened at $60.39 on Friday. Rio Tinto Group has a 52-week low of $57.85 and a 52-week high of $74.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.17.

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.