HighTower Advisors LLC Buys New Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has taken a new position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC, acquiring 66,993 shares valued at approximately $2.49 million during the first quarter.
• AngloGold Ashanti recently increased its semi-annual dividend from $0.69 to $0.80, representing a yield of 610.0% for shareholders.
• Despite a quarterly earnings miss of $1.25 EPS, AngloGold Ashanti reported a revenue of $2.45 billion, surpassing analyst estimates of $2.29 billion.

HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 66,993 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $2,487,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AU. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 274.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,133,744 shares of the mining company's stock worth $118,448,000 after buying an additional 3,764,165 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter worth $63,186,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth $24,741,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,569,868 shares of the mining company's stock worth $59,313,000 after buying an additional 1,045,335 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter worth $37,451,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.60.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:AU traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $55.19. 3,164,040 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,803,845. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.59 and a 200 day moving average of $42.93. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a twelve month low of $22.45 and a twelve month high of $59.19. The company has a market capitalization of $23.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.99.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 23.60% and a return on equity of 22.54%. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. On average, analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a yield of 610.0%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.69. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.