Bridgewater Associates LP Decreases Holdings in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its position in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 35.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,030 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 16,950 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in BHP Group were worth $1,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BHP Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 13,856 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in BHP Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,150 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of BHP Group by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 4,353 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 7,483 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Passumpsic Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of BHP Group by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 4,873 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BHP Group Price Performance

Shares of BHP Group stock opened at $46.59 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $48.40 and a 200 day moving average of $51.18. BHP Group Limited has a 52 week low of $39.73 and a 52 week high of $63.21. The company has a market cap of $118.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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