Mariner LLC Trims Stake in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Mariner LLC cut its stake in shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 143,337 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 17,155 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC's holdings in BHP Group were worth $6,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of BHP Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,878,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BHP Group in the fourth quarter worth $20,574,000. 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 valued at $1,085,253,000 after purchasing an additional 280,258 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in BHP Group in the fourth quarter worth about $9,323,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of BHP Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,795,000. Institutional investors own 3.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have 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 for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered BHP Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised BHP Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $53.00.

BHP Group Stock Performance

NYSE:BHP traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $48.37. The company had a trading volume of 3,599,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,531,464. The firm has a market cap of $122.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 0.85. BHP Group Limited has a 52 week low of $39.73 and a 52 week high of $63.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $48.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.92.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

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

About BHP Group

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.