BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Shares Sold by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE lowered its stake in shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 229,187 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 10,826 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in BHP Group were worth $11,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHP. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BHP Group by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,225,134 shares of the mining company's stock worth $1,085,253,000 after purchasing an additional 280,258 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of BHP Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $452,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in BHP Group by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 158,960 shares of the mining company's stock worth $7,762,000 after acquiring an additional 25,348 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in BHP Group by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 24,791 shares of the mining company's stock worth $1,211,000 after acquiring an additional 2,697 shares during the period. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in BHP Group by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 4,353 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on BHP Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered BHP Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised shares of BHP Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BHP Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.00.

BHP Group Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BHP traded up $1.43 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.65. 2,069,630 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,394,744. The firm has a market cap of $128.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.70. BHP Group Limited has a 12-month low of $48.06 and a 12-month high of $63.21. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $49.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.97.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BHP Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.77%.

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, uranium, gold, zinc, lead, molybdenum, silver, iron ore, cobalt, and metallurgical and energy coal.