Invesco Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti PLC by 0.4%, now owning approximately 2 million shares worth around $74 million.
• AngloGold Ashanti announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.80, a boost from the previous $0.69, with a dividend yield of 610.0% for shareholders of record.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its target price for AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00, while the average analyst rating is currently "Hold" with a target price of $49.60.

Invesco Ltd. increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,006,411 shares of the mining company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,486 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.48% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $74,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth approximately $392,000. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter worth $221,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter valued at $312,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 59.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 520,772 shares of the mining company's stock worth $12,019,000 after acquiring an additional 193,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter worth $238,000. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.60.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock traded up $1.2230 on Wednesday, reaching $53.3730. 1,144,884 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,111,062. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $49.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.46. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a twelve month low of $22.45 and a twelve month high of $59.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The mining company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.06). AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 23.60% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 610.0%. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is 85.11%.

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.