LPL Financial LLC Sells 45,482 Shares of BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC has reduced its holdings in BHP Group Limited by 18.6%, selling 45,482 shares, and now owns 199,407 shares valued at approximately $9.68 million.
• A number of institutional investors recently modified their stakes in BHP, with Deutsche Bank AG significantly increasing its stake by 160%, now owning 1,950 shares worth $95,000.
• BHP Group's stock has been downgraded by several analysts recently, with the consensus rating being a "Hold" and an average target price of $48.50.

LPL Financial LLC trimmed its stake in shares of BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) by 18.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 199,407 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 45,482 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in BHP Group were worth $9,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in BHP Group by 58.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in BHP Group by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 710,003 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $34,669,000 after purchasing an additional 102,433 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in BHP Group by 1,898.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in BHP Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,878,000. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel grew its position in BHP Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 411,130 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $19,956,000 after purchasing an additional 7,816 shares in the last quarter. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Macquarie downgraded shares of BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of BHP Group in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. 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, July 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BHP Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.50.

BHP Group Stock Performance

Shares of BHP traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $53.34. The stock had a trading volume of 2,439,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,994,624. The firm has a market cap of $135.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.34. BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR has a one year low of $39.73 and a one year high of $63.21.

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.