BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Stock Position Increased by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 411,130 shares of the mining company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,816 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel's holdings in BHP Group were worth $19,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in BHP Group by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,225,134 shares of the mining company's stock worth $1,085,253,000 after acquiring an additional 280,258 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,294,562 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $112,043,000 after buying an additional 846,963 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 710,003 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $34,669,000 after buying an additional 102,433 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 1,898.9% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 707,405 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $34,543,000 after buying an additional 672,016 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 642,756 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $31,386,000 after buying an additional 57,097 shares during the period. 3.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BHP has been the subject of several research reports. Clarkson Capital raised shares of BHP Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Argus lowered shares of BHP Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of BHP Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BHP Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.00.

BHP Group Stock Performance

NYSE:BHP traded down $1.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $48.50. The stock had a trading volume of 2,710,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,555,307. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.29. BHP Group Limited has a 52 week low of $39.73 and a 52 week high of $63.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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.