Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Position in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 17.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 316,454 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,791 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in BHP Group were worth $18,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 2.6% in the second quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,925 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in BHP Group by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,101 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in BHP Group by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,365 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC boosted its position in BHP Group by 1.1% in the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Altman Advisors Inc. grew its stake in BHP Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 24,721 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

BHP Group Stock Performance

BHP opened at $48.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. BHP Group Limited has a 12-month low of $48.85 and a 12-month high of $69.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on BHP. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped 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 research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Argus raised BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised BHP Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Three 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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, uranium, gold, zinc, lead, molybdenum, silver, iron ore, cobalt, and metallurgical and energy coal.