Capital World Investors Increases Stock Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 64.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,186,463 shares of the mining company’s stock after buying an additional 1,641,545 shares during the period. Capital World Investors’ holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $357,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AU. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 454.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 471 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 599 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AU opened at $84.45 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12 month low of $43.44 and a 12 month high of $129.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.23.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. Equities analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 9.26 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on AU shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank decreased 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 report on Friday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.00.

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.