Virtu Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 33,544 BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 33,544 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in BHP Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,216,000. Palogic Value Management L.P. raised its position in BHP Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. now owns 82,496 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $4,028,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in BHP Group by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 9,533 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,894 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in BHP Group by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,222 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc raised its position in BHP Group by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 8,003 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 1,759 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

BHP Group Stock Performance

BHP Group stock opened at $49.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $124.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $50.03 and its 200 day moving average is $52.54. BHP Group Limited has a twelve month low of $48.06 and a twelve month high of $63.21.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BHP shares. Clarkson Capital raised BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on BHP Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BHP Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

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.