Bridgewater Associates LP Increases Stock Holdings in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 113.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 396,976 shares of the mining company's stock after buying an additional 211,008 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned about 0.09% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $9,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AU traded down $0.36 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,369,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,455,482. The stock has a market cap of $18.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.81. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.57. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a one year low of $21.65 and a one year high of $46.90.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AU shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.80.

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.