Choate Investment Advisors Purchases 2,942 Shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP)

Choate Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP) by 89.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,233 shares of the mining company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,942 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in BHP Group were worth $304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 287,804 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $14,054,000 after acquiring an additional 26,013 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of BHP Group by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 32,614 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194 shares in the last quarter. Integras Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of BHP Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,231,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in BHP Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 114,515 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $5,592,000 after buying an additional 1,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BHP Group by 139.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,903 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 4,022 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

BHP Group Stock Up 2.1 %

BHP stock opened at $50.51 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. BHP Group Limited has a 1-year low of $48.06 and a 1-year high of $63.21. The stock has a market cap of $128.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48 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 given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 4.8%. BHP Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BHP shares. StockNews.com downgraded BHP Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on BHP Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Clarkson Capital upgraded BHP Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.