AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Position Trimmed by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,946,264 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 141,172 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.94% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $91,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 297.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 259,120 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,900,000 after buying an additional 193,992 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth $630,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter valued at $2,446,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 6.1% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 26,080 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 546.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 211,826 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $5,641,000 after purchasing an additional 179,045 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AU. StockNews.com upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.25.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

NYSE AU opened at $33.55 on Friday. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 1 year low of $21.65 and a 1 year high of $38.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.81.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

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