Marshall Wace LLP Buys 2,680,261 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 3,767.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,751,410 shares of the mining company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,680,261 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.66% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $63,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AU. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

AngloGold Ashanti stock traded down $2.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.22. 3,763,501 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,471,115. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $16.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 0.81. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a fifty-two week low of $21.66 and a fifty-two week high of $46.90.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. On average, research analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is 43.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, 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. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.80.

AngloGold Ashanti Profile

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.