31,683 Shares in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Bought by Bellwether Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Bellwether Advisors LLC opened a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter, buying 31,683 shares worth about $3.085 million.
• Other institutional investors have also been adding to the stock, and hedge funds and institutions now own about 36.09% of AngloGold Ashanti’s shares.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations with quarterly EPS of $2.52 versus $2.27 expected, and it also raised its dividend sharply to $1.16 per share, implying a 5.9% annualized yield.

Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 31,683 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $3,085,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AU. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Freedom Capital upgraded AngloGold Ashanti to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AU opened at $78.43 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $39.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $86.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.77. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12-month low of $45.36 and a 12-month high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is currently 68.04%.

AngloGold Ashanti Profile

AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, production, processing and sale of gold. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company’s core activities span the full mining value chain from greenfield exploration and mine development through to ore processing and rehabilitation. Gold is the primary commodity produced, with individual operations sometimes yielding other by‑products depending on local geology and processing methods.

The company was formed in 2004 through the merger of AngloGold and Ashanti Goldfields, creating a diversified international gold producer.

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