Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Stake in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,456 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 2,855 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in BHP Group were worth $804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of BHP Group during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of BHP Group during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of BHP Group during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BHP Group during the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in BHP Group by 119.4% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,301 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

BHP Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BHP opened at $48.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $122.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.79. BHP Group Limited has a fifty-two week low of $48.06 and a fifty-two week high of $63.21.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. BHP Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BHP has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Clarkson Capital upgraded BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on BHP Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

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, uranium, gold, zinc, lead, molybdenum, silver, iron ore, cobalt, and metallurgical and energy coal.