Merit Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,419 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $381,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,270,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 14.2% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,675,740 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $76,376,000 after buying an additional 207,923 shares during the last quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth approximately $887,000. U S Global Investors Inc. grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 65,000 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,962,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,538,000. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

NYSE:AU opened at $92.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $83.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.43. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52-week low of $25.26 and a 52-week high of $93.85. The firm has a market cap of $38.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32 and a beta of 0.58.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.02). AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.25% and a return on equity of 24.01%. The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is 80.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on AU shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Scotiabank raised their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, production, processing and sale of gold. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company’s core activities span the full mining value chain from greenfield exploration and mine development through to ore processing and rehabilitation. Gold is the primary commodity produced, with individual operations sometimes yielding other by‑products depending on local geology and processing methods.

The company was formed in 2004 through the merger of AngloGold and Ashanti Goldfields, creating a diversified international gold producer.