AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Stock Position Lowered by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 42.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 42,732 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 31,233 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $3,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,728,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,136,739 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $361,310,000 after acquiring an additional 284,017 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,777,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,139,000. Finally, Sprott Inc. lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 770,670 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $54,201,000 after buying an additional 16,828 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

NYSE:AU opened at $91.88 on Tuesday. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 1 year low of $43.44 and a 1 year high of $129.14. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.60.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share (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 37.17%. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 9.26 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Scotiabank cut 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 research report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.00.

AngloGold Ashanti 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.