AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Shares Purchased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 15,115.7% in Q4 to 454,950 shares, worth about $42.64 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is positive overall — six Buys, one Hold and one Sell — giving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a mean price target of $100.33, with firms like Citigroup and JPMorgan recently raising targets.
• AngloGold Ashanti reported Q earnings of $1.90 EPS (in line) and revenue of $3.07B (beat), but recently declared a reduced quarterly dividend of $0.173 (annualized $0.69), yielding 0.8% with a payout ratio of 133.33%.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 15,115.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 454,950 shares of the mining company's stock after acquiring an additional 451,960 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $42,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 129.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 490 shares of the mining company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 33.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 599 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AU. Citigroup increased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $122.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.33.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU opened at $85.31 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company's 50-day moving average price is $105.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.13. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a fifty-two week low of $31.91 and a fifty-two week high of $129.14. The firm has a market cap of $43.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 0.55.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 26.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.173 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

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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