Virtu Financial LLC Buys Shares of 33,544 BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 33,544 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $1,638,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in BHP Group by 4.6% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 6,012 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in BHP Group by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 153,170 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $9,513,000 after acquiring an additional 22,677 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BHP Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $294,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 84,592 shares of the mining company's stock worth $5,257,000 after purchasing an additional 17,191 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of BHP Group by 32.5% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,051 shares of the mining company's stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,201 shares in the last quarter. 3.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BHP Group Stock Performance

BHP Group stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $49.65. 2,747,961 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,413,068. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.25. BHP Group Limited has a 12 month low of $48.06 and a 12 month high of $63.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day moving average of $50.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.49.

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BHP Group Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.