AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,263,884 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 60,902 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $123,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 55.0% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 19,085 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,858,000 after acquiring an additional 6,773 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 7,896 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $769,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter worth $1,013,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 63,149 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,148,000 after acquiring an additional 5,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the first quarter valued at $397,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $76.75 on Monday. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52-week low of $45.36 and a 52-week high of $129.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.90. The firm has a market cap of $38.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.65.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.25. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AU. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Roth Capital cut their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.50.

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.