529,957 Shares in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 529,957 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,878,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in BHP Group by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,365 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in BHP Group by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 4,353 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank boosted its holdings in BHP Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 7,483 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in BHP Group by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 6,012 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. Finally, Passumpsic Savings Bank boosted its holdings in BHP Group by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 4,873 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. 3.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

BHP Group Stock Performance

BHP Group stock opened at $49.44 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.70. 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 market cap of $125.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 0.90. BHP Group Limited has a fifty-two week low of $48.06 and a fifty-two week high of $63.21.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BHP Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.