Guardian Partners Inc. Invests $4.78 Million in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new position in BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 98,081 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,779,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 392.1% in the 4th quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 18,424 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $900,000 after purchasing an additional 14,680 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 642,756 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $31,386,000 after purchasing an additional 57,097 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BHP Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,638,000. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in shares of BHP Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,216,000. Finally, Palogic Value Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of BHP Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. now owns 82,496 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $4,028,000 after buying an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BHP Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BHP opened at $49.23 on Friday. BHP Group Limited has a fifty-two week low of $48.06 and a fifty-two week high of $63.21. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.54. 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 firm has a market cap of $124.82 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.90.

BHP Group Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BHP has been the subject of a number of recent research 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 lowered their target price on BHP Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.