BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) Shares Sold by Ruggaard & Associates LLC

Ruggaard & Associates LLC lowered its stake in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,626 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Ruggaard & Associates LLC’s holdings in BHP Group were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in BHP Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in BHP Group during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in BHP Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Allianz SE purchased a new stake in BHP Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in BHP Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Clarkson Capital raised BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $53.00.

BHP Group Trading Down 9.5 %

NYSE:BHP opened at $42.08 on Friday. BHP Group Limited has a 52-week low of $41.67 and a 52-week high of $63.21. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.23. The company has a market capitalization of $106.69 billion, a PE ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 0.90.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

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