Bank of America Corp DE Sells 1,061,671 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 37.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,787,161 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 1,061,671 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.43% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $41,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AU. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,116,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,135 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 345,300 shares of the mining company's stock worth $7,970,000 after purchasing an additional 80,975 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth approximately $418,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth about $288,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

AngloGold Ashanti stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.40. 594,770 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,575,668. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 52 week low of $22.13 and a 52 week high of $46.90. The firm has a market cap of $18.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 0.48. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $39.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The mining company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. On average, analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AU shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $42.00 to $43.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.30.

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.