Meritage Portfolio Management Has $2.72 Million Holdings in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its holdings in shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 80.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 39,851 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 160,375 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in BHP Group were worth $2,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BHP. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in BHP Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,695,563 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $267,084,000 after purchasing an additional 126,643 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in BHP Group by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,993,564 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $170,274,000 after acquiring an additional 924,202 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in BHP Group by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,223,009 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $69,565,000 after acquiring an additional 117,239 shares during the period. Westwood Global Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of BHP Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Westwood Global Investments LLC now owns 998,872 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $56,816,000 after acquiring an additional 20,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 15.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 669,915 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $38,105,000 after purchasing an additional 88,907 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BHP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Liberum Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of BHP Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of BHP Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of BHP Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BHP Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

BHP Group Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BHP traded down $2.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $57.21. The company had a trading volume of 3,944,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,621,283. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $57.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.22. BHP Group Limited has a 52-week low of $54.28 and a 52-week high of $69.11.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th.

BHP Group Company 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, silver, zinc, molybdenum, uranium, gold, iron ore, and metallurgical and energy coal.