Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 13,269 Shares of BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in BHP Group Limited by 11.6%, holding 127,784 shares valued at approximately $6.2 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• BHP Group's stock recently opened at $53.17, with the company experiencing a 1.7% decline in trading.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on BHP Group, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $48.50, highlighting some cautious sentiment regarding the stock's performance.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) by 11.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,784 shares of the mining company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,269 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in BHP Group were worth $6,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHP. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in BHP Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 13,856 shares of the mining company's stock worth $677,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of BHP Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,150 shares of the mining company's stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY raised its stake in shares of BHP Group by 10.1% in the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 2,353 shares of the mining company's stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of BHP Group by 4.2% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,788 shares of the mining company's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Gleason Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of BHP Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 14,435 shares of the mining company's stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 3.79% of the company's stock.

BHP Group Price Performance

NYSE BHP traded down $0.04 on Thursday, reaching $50.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,720,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,007,082. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $50.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.26. BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR has a 12 month low of $39.73 and a 12 month high of $63.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on BHP. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Argus downgraded shares of BHP Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Sunday. Berenberg Bank reissued a "sell" rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of BHP Group in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Macquarie cut BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.50.

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.