Barclays PLC Decreases Stock Position in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Barclays PLC decreased its position in shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 188,365 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 37,718 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in BHP Group were worth $9,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BHP. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in BHP Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of BHP Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of BHP Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Allianz SE purchased a new position in shares of BHP Group in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in BHP Group in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. 3.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BHP Group Price Performance

BHP stock opened at $47.60 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. BHP Group Limited has a 12 month low of $39.73 and a 12 month high of $63.21. The stock has a market cap of $120.70 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $48.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.92.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BHP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Clarkson Capital raised BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.