American Century Companies Inc. Has $33.09 Million Stock Position in BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR $BHP

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in BHP Group by 6.1%, owning 681,659 shares valued at approximately $33.09 million.
• BHP Group announced a boost in its semi-annual dividend to $1.185 per share, up from $1.00, with a dividend yield of 410.0%.
• Recent analyst ratings for BHP Group included several downgrades, with an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.50.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 681,659 shares of the mining company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,903 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in BHP Group were worth $33,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BHP. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of BHP Group by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,294,562 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $112,043,000 after purchasing an additional 846,963 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of BHP Group by 1,898.9% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 707,405 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $34,543,000 after purchasing an additional 672,016 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of BHP Group by 3,599.1% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 260,935 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $12,666,000 after purchasing an additional 253,881 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BHP Group by 94.9% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 422,239 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $20,495,000 after purchasing an additional 205,591 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of BHP Group in the 1st quarter valued at $8,734,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BHP. Argus downgraded BHP Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of BHP Group in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of BHP Group in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BHP Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.50.

BHP Group Price Performance

BHP stock opened at $54.4350 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.63. The stock has a market cap of $138.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR has a 1 year low of $39.73 and a 1 year high of $63.21.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.185 per share. This is a boost from BHP Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a yield of 410.0%. BHP Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.86%.

About BHP Group

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.

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