Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) Rating Lowered to "Equal Weight" at Morgan Stanley

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on RIO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Clarkson Capital upgraded Rio Tinto Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Rio Tinto Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Rio Tinto Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.00.

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Rio Tinto Group Stock Performance

NYSE:RIO traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $56.94. 1,307,965 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,874,908. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Rio Tinto Group has a twelve month low of $51.67 and a twelve month high of $74.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.99 and a 200 day moving average of $62.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.66.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,115,476 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $300,841,000 after buying an additional 70,131 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,721,690 shares of the mining company's stock worth $101,253,000 after acquiring an additional 339,924 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Rio Tinto Group by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,603,037 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $94,275,000 after acquiring an additional 255,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $74,341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.33% of the company's stock.

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.