AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Shares Acquired by FIL Ltd

FIL Ltd lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 251,221 shares of the mining company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,900 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd owned 0.06% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $5,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AU stock traded down $2.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.19. The company had a trading volume of 5,482,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,454,249. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 12-month low of $21.65 and a 12-month high of $46.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.45 and a 200-day moving average of $29.29.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. On average, equities 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 announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued 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 was Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

AngloGold Ashanti Company 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.