Scotia Capital Inc. Reduces Holdings in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Scotia Capital Inc. lowered its position in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,925 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 386 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in BHP Group were worth $1,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of BHP Group in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in BHP Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in BHP Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Allianz SE purchased a new stake in shares of BHP Group during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BHP Group during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BHP. Clarkson Capital upgraded BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on BHP Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BHP Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $53.00.

BHP Group Price Performance

NYSE:BHP opened at $45.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.82 and a 200 day moving average of $51.65. BHP Group Limited has a 52-week low of $39.73 and a 52-week high of $63.21.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

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

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.