Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Grows Stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 44,368.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,564 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,529 shares during the quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A.’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $1,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 454.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 471 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU opened at $84.55 on Friday. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 1 year low of $44.67 and a 1 year high of $129.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.71.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.91 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is 68.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.80.

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.