Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 102,006 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 10,862 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.'s holdings in BHP Group were worth $6,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in BHP Group in the third quarter worth $26,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 7,516.7% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 457 shares of the mining company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BHP Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of BHP Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. 3.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

BHP Group Stock Performance

BHP stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,618,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,465,680. BHP Group Limited has a 1 year low of $50.90 and a 1 year high of $69.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.70.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $1.465 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This is an increase from BHP Group's previous Semi-Annual dividend of $1.44.

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.