BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Shares Sold by HM Payson & Co.

HM Payson & Co. cut its stake in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,253 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in BHP Group were worth $78,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its stake in BHP Group by 48.9% in the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 600 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of BHP Group by 2.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 27,500 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in BHP Group by 4.1% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,101 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC boosted its holdings in BHP Group by 1.1% in the second quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 19,208 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

BHP Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BHP opened at $55.93 on Friday. 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 50 day moving average is $56.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.74. BHP Group Limited has a 52 week low of $50.90 and a 52 week high of $69.11.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

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

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.