Artemis Investment Management LLP Reduces Stock Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• Artemis Investment Management cut its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 57.9% in Q4, selling 330,000 shares and ending the period with 240,184 shares worth about $20.48 million.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus target of $112.20 (five Buys, one Hold, one Sell); notable price-target raises include Citigroup to $120 and Roth MKM at $122, and Weiss upgraded the stock to a Buy.
• AngloGold is trading around $92.57 with a market cap of $46.7 billion and a PE of 17.8; the company met EPS estimates but recently paid a reduced quarterly dividend (annualized $0.69) implying a low yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 133.3%.

Artemis Investment Management LLP cut its stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 57.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 240,184 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 330,000 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $20,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. PDS Planning Inc lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,246 shares of the mining company's stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,572 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.5% during the third quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 31,919 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $2,245,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 33.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 599 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 4.8% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,528 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AU. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $122.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.20.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $92.57 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $103.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.74 billion, a PE ratio of 17.84 and a beta of 0.60. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 1-year low of $38.61 and a 1-year high of $129.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 2.20.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.65% and a return on equity of 29.11%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.173 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is 133.33%.

AngloGold Ashanti Company 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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