Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $118.45 Million Holdings in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 274.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,133,744 shares of the mining company's stock after buying an additional 3,764,165 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.22% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $118,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,799 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 91,168 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $2,104,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 8,860 shares of the mining company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,745 shares of the mining company's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target 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. 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on 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. lifted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.68. 874,368 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,889,482. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 1-year low of $22.13 and a 1-year high of $46.90. The company has a market cap of $16.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.32.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.75 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

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.