Marshall Wace LLP Sells 132,698 Shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Marshall Wace LLP lessened its stake in shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 94.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,450 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 132,698 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in BHP Group were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in BHP Group by 48.9% during the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 600 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,925 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BHP Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 27,500 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,570,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in BHP Group by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC grew its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 1.1% during the second quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 19,208 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

BHP Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BHP opened at $58.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $149.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.96. BHP Group Limited has a 52-week low of $50.90 and a 52-week high of $69.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $55.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.90.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $1.465 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This is a positive change from BHP Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $1.44. This represents a yield of 5.2%. BHP Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BHP. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised BHP Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Argus upgraded BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BHP Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.00.

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, silver, zinc, molybdenum, uranium, gold, iron ore, and metallurgical and energy coal.