Virtu Financial LLC Reduces Position in BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR $BHP

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC reduced its stake in BHP Group by 67.6%, owning 10,857 shares after selling 22,687 during the first quarter, valued at approximately $527,000.
• Institutional investors have varied their holdings, with Russell Investments Group Ltd. increasing its stake by 31.1% and Townsquare Capital LLC boosting its position by 60.9% in the fourth quarter.
• BHP Group received several downgrades from brokerages, with an average rating of "Hold" and a target price of $48.50, reflecting a shift in market sentiment toward the stock.

Virtu Financial LLC decreased its stake in BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) by 67.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,857 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 22,687 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in BHP Group were worth $527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in BHP Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in BHP Group during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in BHP Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of BHP Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in BHP Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.79% of the company's stock.

BHP Group Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE BHP traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $53.69. 1,392,361 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,968,539. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $50.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $136.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.80. BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR has a twelve month low of $39.73 and a twelve month high of $63.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BHP. Macquarie cut BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. 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 lowered shares of BHP Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.50.

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.