Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 30,980 Shares of BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR $BHP

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its holding in BHP Group by 2.8% to a total of 1,149,201 shares, worth approximately $55.78 million as of the latest quarter.
• BHP Group recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $1.185 per share, an increase from the previous $1.00 dividend, reflecting a payout ratio of 44.77%.
• The stock has a market capitalization of $140.87 billion and a twelve-month price range between $39.73 and $63.21.

Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,149,201 shares of the mining company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,980 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada's holdings in BHP Group were worth $55,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in BHP Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of BHP Group during the first quarter worth $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of BHP Group during the first quarter worth $27,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of BHP Group in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of BHP Group in the 4th quarter valued at $74,000. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein cut BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Macquarie cut BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective 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 report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Sunday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BHP Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.50.

BHP Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of BHP Group stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $53.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,586,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,710,401. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $53.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.03. BHP Group Limited Sponsored ADR has a fifty-two week low of $39.73 and a fifty-two week high of $63.21. The firm has a market cap of $135.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

BHP Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $1.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is currently 53.86%.

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.