First Trust Advisors LP Makes New $1.44 Million Investment in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 29,499 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $1,440,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BHP. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in BHP Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in BHP Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in BHP Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Allianz SE purchased a new position in BHP Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in BHP Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BHP has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of BHP Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of BHP Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.00.

BHP Group Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of BHP stock traded up $1.47 on Monday, hitting $50.14. The stock had a trading volume of 716,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,542,053. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $127.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.86. BHP Group Limited has a 1 year low of $39.73 and a 1 year high of $63.21. The company's 50 day moving average price is $47.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.03.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 4.8%. BHP Group's payout ratio is 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.