Essex Savings Bank Sells 1,309 Shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Essex Savings Bank decreased its holdings in shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 15.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,264 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 1,309 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in BHP Group were worth $451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Eastern Bank bought a new position in BHP Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 7,516.7% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 457 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BHP Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BHP Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of BHP Group by 124.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 530 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised BHP Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

BHP Group Stock Performance

Shares of BHP Group stock opened at $55.19 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.70. BHP Group Limited has a twelve month low of $50.90 and a twelve month high of $69.11.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

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

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.