59,355 Shares in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Purchased by DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 59,355 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,370,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at about $248,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth about $69,000. Polianta Ltd acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth about $1,103,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 177.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,124 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 8,401 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AU has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank upped their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

AU opened at $44.75 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $18.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $37.82 and a 200-day moving average of $30.88. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 52-week low of $22.13 and a 52-week high of $46.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The mining company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a yield of 2.8%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania.