Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 46,791 Shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) by 17.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 316,454 shares of the mining company's stock after acquiring an additional 46,791 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in BHP Group were worth $18,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BHP. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in BHP Group during the third quarter worth $26,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in shares of BHP Group by 7,516.7% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 457 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in BHP Group in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in BHP Group by 124.6% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 530 shares of the mining company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BHP Group by 1,187.0% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 592 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on BHP shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded BHP Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com raised BHP Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of BHP Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Argus raised shares of BHP Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.00.

BHP Group Price Performance

BHP traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,915,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,436,352. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $54.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.95. BHP Group Limited has a 12 month low of $48.79 and a 12 month high of $69.11.

BHP Group Company 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.