Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Takes $2.36 Million Position in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 38,000 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,360,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BHP. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC bought a new position in BHP Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in BHP Group by 6,281.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 444,664 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $276,180,000 after purchasing an additional 437,696 shares during the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC acquired a new position in BHP Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $211,000. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of BHP Group by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 23,614 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,467,000 after buying an additional 2,314 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of BHP Group during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BHP Group Trading Down 0.3 %

BHP Group stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $55.55. 604,228 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,472,896. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.96. BHP Group Limited has a fifty-two week low of $50.90 and a fifty-two week high of $69.11.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $1.465 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.2%. This is a positive change from BHP Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $1.44. BHP Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BHP. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of BHP Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com raised BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Argus upgraded BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Three investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, BHP Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

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.