Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 5,247 Shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 9.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,749 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 5,247 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in BHP Group were worth $3,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of BHP Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,953,000. XY Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of BHP Group by 503.6% in the third quarter. XY Capital Ltd now owns 921,666 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $57,245,000 after purchasing an additional 768,972 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of BHP Group in the third quarter worth $2,360,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of BHP Group during the 3rd quarter worth $9,830,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in BHP Group by 477.0% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 209,883 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $11,982,000 after buying an additional 173,510 shares during the last quarter. 3.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BHP Group Stock Performance

Shares of BHP Group stock opened at $52.36 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.38. BHP Group Limited has a 52-week low of $50.90 and a 52-week high of $69.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is a boost from BHP Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $1.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a yield of 5.2%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BHP. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of BHP Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $72.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com cut BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Argus raised shares of BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BHP Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.00.

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.