Barings LLC Decreases Stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• Barings LLC reduced its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 20.5% in the first quarter, selling 110,759 shares and leaving it with 428,469 shares valued at about $41.6 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $110.50, though several firms recently lowered their targets.
• The company reported strong fundamentals and boosted its dividend, beating earnings estimates for the latest quarter and raising its quarterly payout to $1.16 per share, implying a 6.1% annualized yield.

Barings LLC cut its stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 20.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 428,469 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 110,759 shares during the period. AngloGold Ashanti accounts for about 0.7% of Barings LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Barings LLC owned about 0.08% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $41,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter worth $321,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 106.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the mining company's stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,734 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 88.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 136,543 shares of the mining company's stock worth $6,200,000 after acquiring an additional 64,066 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,740,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Freedom Capital upgraded AngloGold Ashanti to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $155.00 to $134.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Roth Capital decreased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

NYSE AU opened at $76.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.65. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a twelve month low of $45.36 and a twelve month high of $129.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $88.43 and a 200 day moving average of $96.96.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 36.41% and a net margin of 31.11%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is 68.04%.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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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