Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Boosts Stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 4,292.8% in Q4, purchasing an additional 33,441 shares to hold 34,220 shares worth about $2.99 million.
• Analysts are mixed on AU with a consensus rating of Hold, an average target price of $112.20, and a split of four Buy, two Hold and one Sell ratings.
• AngloGold reported Q earnings of $1.90 EPS (in line) and $3.07 billion revenue (above estimates), and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.173 (annualized $0.69) with a payout ratio of 133.33%, suggesting dividend sustainability concerns.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 4,292.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,220 shares of the mining company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,441 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $2,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. PDS Planning Inc lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,246 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,572 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 31,919 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $2,245,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 599 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,528 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $122.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup increased their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.20.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

NYSE AU opened at $92.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $103.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.19. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 1 year low of $38.61 and a 1 year high of $129.14. The company has a market cap of $46.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84 and a beta of 0.60.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.90. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 26.65%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.173 per share. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 133.33%.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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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