Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stake in Newmont Corporation $NEM

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Newmont stake by 51.6% in Q1, selling 284,462 shares and leaving it with 266,343 shares valued at about $28.8 million.
• Newmont continues to attract mostly bullish analyst coverage, with recent upgrades from Sanford C. Bernstein and Zacks Research; the stock’s consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $140.50 price target.
• The company reported strong Q1 results, posting EPS of $2.90 versus the $2.07 consensus and revenue of $7.31 billion, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its holdings in Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM - Free Report) by 51.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 266,343 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 284,462 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Newmont were worth $28,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NEM. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Newmont by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 202,892 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $20,259,000 after purchasing an additional 79,617 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Newmont by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 280,920 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,775,000 after acquiring an additional 54,530 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Newmont by 124.8% in the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 330,250 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $27,843,000 after acquiring an additional 183,360 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Newmont in the fourth quarter worth $9,018,000. Finally, Waverton Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Newmont by 3.4% during the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 704,331 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $59,365,000 after purchasing an additional 23,139 shares in the last quarter. 68.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Peter Toth sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.32, for a total transaction of $315,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,877,895.80. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider David John Thornton sold 2,296 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.11, for a total value of $252,812.56. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,163 shares in the company, valued at $2,550,477.93. This trade represents a 9.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,556 shares of company stock worth $3,120,276. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Newmont from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $157.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Newmont from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Newmont from $118.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Newmont from $125.10 to $122.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Newmont in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.50.

Newmont Trading Up 0.8%

Newmont stock opened at $96.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $102.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.42. Newmont Corporation has a 12 month low of $55.37 and a 12 month high of $134.88. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $107.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The basic materials company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.83. Newmont had a net margin of 33.87% and a return on equity of 27.84%. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 45.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Newmont Corporation will post 9.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Newmont Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Newmont's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.49%.

About Newmont

Newmont Corporation NYSE: NEM is a leading global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, processing and reclamation of gold properties. The company's core business centers on the production of gold, with additional byproduct metals produced from its operations. Newmont operates a portfolio of long‑lived mines and development projects, and its activities span the full mine life cycle from early-stage exploration through to mining, milling and closure.

Founded in 1921 and headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado, Newmont has grown through organic development and strategic acquisitions.

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