D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Purchases 157,183 Shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 285.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 212,266 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 157,183 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in BHP Group were worth $10,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of BHP Group during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in BHP Group during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Allianz SE acquired a new position in BHP Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in BHP Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in BHP Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 3.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BHP Group Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:BHP opened at $50.24 on Thursday. BHP Group Limited has a 12-month low of $39.73 and a 12-month high of $63.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $47.67 and a 200-day moving average of $49.99. 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 market cap of $127.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.86.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.