Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Invests $254,000 in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• Freestone Capital Holdings LLC has acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC, purchasing 6,830 shares valued at approximately $254,000.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for AngloGold Ashanti, with JPMorgan Chase raising the target price to $63.00 while Wall Street Zen downgraded it to a "hold" rating.
• The company has declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.80 to be paid on September 5th, up from the previous $0.69, reflecting a strong dividend yield.

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,830 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $787,791,000 after purchasing an additional 145,125 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 274.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,133,744 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $118,448,000 after purchasing an additional 3,764,165 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 2.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,041,932 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $150,054,000 after purchasing an additional 95,668 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 68.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,569,868 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $59,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 19.8% during the first quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,337,673 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $86,774,000 after acquiring an additional 386,078 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock traded down $0.2180 on Friday, hitting $54.6120. The stock had a trading volume of 3,137,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,771,386. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a one year low of $22.45 and a one year high of $59.19. The stock has a market cap of $22.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $50.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.44.

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). AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 23.60%.The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.69. This represents a dividend yield of 610.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday, August 1st. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.60.

AngloGold Ashanti 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.