LPL Financial LLC Sells 53,870 Shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

LPL Financial LLC cut its holdings in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 18.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 244,889 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 53,870 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in BHP Group were worth $11,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of BHP Group by 17.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 153,170 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $9,513,000 after buying an additional 22,677 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in BHP Group by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,434,417 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $89,092,000 after acquiring an additional 129,908 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BHP Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $227,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of BHP Group by 42.9% in 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. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 181.1% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,701 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 10,760 shares during the last quarter. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BHP Group Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of BHP Group stock opened at $47.93 on Thursday. BHP Group Limited has a 1-year low of $47.30 and a 1-year high of $63.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.90.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BHP. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BHP Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.