ABN Amro Investment Solutions Makes New $2.80 Million Investment in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

ABN Amro Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 28,761 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,800,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth about $13,777,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,139,000. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at $6,523,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 606.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,054 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $918,000 after purchasing an additional 11,207 shares during the period. Finally, Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC now owns 122,885 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $10,556,000 after purchasing an additional 14,673 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $78.41 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $85.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50 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 PLC has a one year low of $45.36 and a one year high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion during 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 8.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $155.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.50.

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.