BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Stake Boosted by Horizon Investments LLC

Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,222 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in BHP Group were worth $548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BHP. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake in BHP Group by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 4,353 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank grew its stake in BHP Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 7,483 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in BHP Group by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 6,012 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank grew its stake in BHP Group by 7.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Gleason Group Inc. grew its stake in BHP Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 14,155 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $691,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

BHP Group Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE BHP opened at $49.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $125.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.58. BHP Group Limited has a 52 week low of $48.06 and a 52 week high of $63.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.70.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.8%. BHP Group’s payout ratio is 44.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Clarkson Capital raised BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on BHP Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $53.00.

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.