BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Shares Sold by WealthTrust Axiom LLC

WealthTrust Axiom LLC cut its holdings in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,023 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in BHP Group were worth $890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHP. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in BHP Group by 44.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,993,564 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $170,274,000 after purchasing an additional 924,202 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in BHP Group by 6,529.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 464,771 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $31,749,000 after purchasing an additional 457,760 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in BHP Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,381,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in BHP Group by 2.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,695,563 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $267,084,000 after purchasing an additional 126,643 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BHP Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,933,000. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on BHP shares. Liberum Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BHP Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised BHP Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BHP Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.00.

BHP Group Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of BHP Group stock traded down $1.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $55.40. 1,841,007 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,627,249. BHP Group Limited has a 1 year low of $54.28 and a 1 year high of $69.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.78 and its 200 day moving average is $60.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $140.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.96.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $1.44 dividend. This represents a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. BHP Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.66%.

BHP Group Profile

BHP Group Limited operates as a resources company in Australia, Europe, China, Japan, India, South Korea, the rest of Asia, North America, South America, and internationally. The company operates through Copper, Iron Ore, and Coal segments. It engages in the mining of copper, silver, zinc, molybdenum, uranium, gold, iron ore, and metallurgical and energy coal.