Northern Trust Corp Sells 59,086 Shares of BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR $BHP

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its stake in BHP Group by 2.6%, holding 2,235,476 shares valued at $108.51 million after selling 59,086 shares in the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in BHP Group, with Invesco Ltd. raising its stake by 1.8% and NBT Bank N A NY increasing by 10.1% in the same period.
• BHP Group has announced a semi-annual dividend of $1.185 per share, reflecting an increase from its previous dividend and representing a yield of 410.0%.

Northern Trust Corp lessened its stake in shares of BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,235,476 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 59,086 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.09% of BHP Group worth $108,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BHP. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in BHP Group during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of BHP Group in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of BHP Group in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of BHP Group in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BHP Group in the fourth quarter worth about $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BHP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of BHP Group in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of BHP Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Macquarie downgraded shares of BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.50.

BHP Group Price Performance

BHP Group stock traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $55.86. 2,367,753 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,685,569. BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR has a one year low of $39.73 and a one year high of $63.21. The stock has a market cap of $141.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.86.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $1.185 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a boost from BHP Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $1.00. This represents a yield of 410.0%. BHP Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.77%.

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.