Ascent Group LLC Makes New $231,000 Investment in BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR $BHP

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC invested $231,000 in BHP Group Limited by acquiring 4,756 shares during the first quarter, indicating growing interest from institutional investors.
• BHP Group recently announced a dividend increase, with a semi-annual payment of $1.185, up from the previous $1.00, reflecting its strong financial position.
• BHP stock has shown a 0.2% decline recently, and analysts provide mixed ratings, with a consensus average price target of $48.50.

Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,756 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BHP. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in BHP Group by 1.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,579,061 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $270,808,000 after purchasing an additional 63,641 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 43.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,951,258 shares of the mining company's stock worth $240,334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490,012 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 2.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,149,201 shares of the mining company's stock worth $55,781,000 after purchasing an additional 30,980 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 6.1% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 681,659 shares of the mining company's stock worth $33,088,000 after purchasing an additional 38,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 94.9% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 422,239 shares of the mining company's stock worth $20,495,000 after purchasing an additional 205,591 shares during the last quarter. 3.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BHP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Sunday, July 27th. Macquarie cut shares of BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of BHP Group in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Berenberg Bank restated a "sell" rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of BHP Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Argus cut shares of BHP Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.50.

BHP Group Stock Performance

Shares of BHP Group stock traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $52.34. 1,601,065 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,959,738. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.81. BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR has a one year low of $39.73 and a one year high of $63.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.185 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a dividend yield of 441.0%. This is an increase from BHP Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $1.00. BHP Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.86%.

BHP Group Company 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.