BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Stake Reduced by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC lessened its position in shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 244,889 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 53,870 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in BHP Group were worth $11,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in BHP Group in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of BHP Group in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of BHP Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BHP Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in BHP Group by 42.9% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,169 shares of the mining company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on BHP. StockNews.com downgraded BHP Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on BHP Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised BHP Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.00.

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BHP Group Stock Performance

Shares of BHP traded down $4.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.08. 8,170,403 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,459,754. BHP Group Limited has a 12 month low of $41.67 and a 12 month high of $63.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 0.90. The business's 50-day moving average price is $49.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.32. 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 Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 4.8%. BHP Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.77%.

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.