Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 77,216 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC by 20.2%, owning 458,843 shares worth approximately $17 million after a purchase of 77,216 additional shares.
• The firm's semi-annual dividend payout will increase to $0.80 per share, up from the previous $0.69, with a yield of 610.0%.
• Despite a revenue of $2.45 billion surpassing estimates, AngloGold Ashanti's earnings per share missed consensus estimates by $0.06, totaling $1.25 for the quarter.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 20.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 458,843 shares of the mining company's stock after purchasing an additional 77,216 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.11% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $17,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,002,449 shares of the mining company's stock worth $787,791,000 after purchasing an additional 145,125 shares in the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Allianz Polska S.A. boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 4.8% during the first quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Allianz Polska S.A. now owns 26,200 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $984,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,452,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 4.9% during the first quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 76,939 shares of the mining company's stock worth $2,856,000 after acquiring an additional 3,623 shares during the period. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter worth $30,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on AU. Wall Street Zen lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Monday, August 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.60.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AU traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $55.19. The stock had a trading volume of 3,164,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,803,845. The firm has a market cap of $23.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.99 and a quick ratio of 2.22. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52 week low of $22.45 and a 52 week high of $59.19.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 23.60% and a return on equity of 22.54%. On average, equities research analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

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