AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Shares Sold by State of Wyoming

State of Wyoming lowered its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 74.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,562 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 10,201 shares during the period. State of Wyoming’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the second quarter worth approximately $1,270,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,675,740 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $76,376,000 after acquiring an additional 207,923 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,408,000. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth $887,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 7.7% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 259,363 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $18,241,000 after purchasing an additional 18,457 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AU. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AU opened at $103.85 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $92.58 and its 200-day moving average is $75.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.98. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12-month low of $28.44 and a 12-month high of $115.81.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.25% and a return on equity of 24.01%. Equities research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is 80.18%.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.