Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Buys New Position in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 538,693 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,458,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of BHP Group by 532.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,353,268 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $134,442,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,008 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in BHP Group by 6,281.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 444,664 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $276,180,000 after buying an additional 437,696 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of BHP Group by 42.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 757,231 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $43,685,000 after purchasing an additional 225,428 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of BHP Group by 477.0% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 209,883 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $11,982,000 after purchasing an additional 173,510 shares during the period. Finally, Shelter Ins Retirement Plan bought a new stake in shares of BHP Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,405,000. Institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

BHP Group Stock Performance

Shares of BHP stock traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $56.82. 321,902 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,468,141. BHP Group Limited has a 12-month low of $50.90 and a 12-month 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. The company has a market cap of $143.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.88.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $1.465 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from BHP Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $1.44. This represents a yield of 5.2%. BHP Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BHP. Argus upgraded BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded BHP Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BHP Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.