Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Makes New $3.45 Million Investment in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has invested approximately $3.45 million in AngloGold Ashanti PLC by acquiring 92,451 shares during the first quarter.
• AngloGold Ashanti recently reported earnings of $0.88 per share for the quarter, surpassing analyst estimates with revenues of $1.93 billion.
• Despite cutting its dividend to $0.125 per share, AngloGold Ashanti maintains a dividend payout ratio of 16.45% and a yield of 1.14%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 92,451 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $3,452,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AU. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 769.5% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,939 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 2,601 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.08.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 5.5%

AngloGold Ashanti stock traded up $2.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.79. 4,254,168 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,166,241. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $20.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 0.48. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 1 year low of $22.45 and a 1 year high of $51.93.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The mining company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.06). AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 21.09%. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 114.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

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.