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

Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 6,606 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 48% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,469 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on RIO shares. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Rio Tinto from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Rio Tinto from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Rio Tinto in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.62.

Rio Tinto Stock Performance

Shares of Rio Tinto stock traded up $1.89 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $85.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,018,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,903,796. Rio Tinto has a one year low of $67.74 and a one year high of $112.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $96.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.23.

Rio Tinto Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $2.11 per share. This represents a yield of 441.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th.

Institutional Trading of Rio Tinto

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RIO. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Rio Tinto during the 1st quarter valued at $106,724,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Rio Tinto by 417.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 965,800 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $90,099,000 after purchasing an additional 779,200 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Rio Tinto by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,623,294 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $338,017,000 after purchasing an additional 225,016 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Rio Tinto by 101.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 241,718 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $22,946,000 after buying an additional 121,537 shares during the period. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto by 207.9% during the first quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 113,025 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $10,544,000 after purchasing an additional 76,322 shares during the last quarter. 19.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto plc is a diversified mining and metals company with operations and projects spanning multiple continents. Its principal products include iron ore, aluminum, copper, lithium, borates and titanium dioxide, which are supplied to customers in the steel, construction, automotive, technology and manufacturing industries.

The company explores for, mines, processes and transports mineral resources, while also operating related infrastructure such as railways, ports, smelters and processing facilities.