Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU – Free Report) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,012,801 shares of the mining company’s stock after buying an additional 163,680 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $171,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AU. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth about $1,380,472,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth about $426,477,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1,175.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,967,173 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $226,354,000 after purchasing an additional 4,577,807 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 19,847,932 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,395,905,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,186,463 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $357,022,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641,545 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AU shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank lowered their target price 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. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.00.
AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance
AU stock opened at $84.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $97.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.24. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52-week low of $43.44 and a 52-week high of $129.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.60. 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 – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 9.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.
AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. 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%.
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.
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