Ninety One UK Ltd Decreases Stock Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd cut its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 1.5% in Q4, selling 31,120 shares and retaining 1,988,304 shares valued at about $169.56 million.
• Analysts show a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $112.20; Citigroup raised its target to $120 while several firms have recently issued downgrades or target changes.
• AngloGold reported Q4 EPS of $1.90 (in line with estimates) and revenue of $3.07 billion, trades near $109 with a $55.14 billion market cap, and pays an annualized dividend of $0.69 with a payout ratio of 133.33%.

Ninety One UK Ltd cut its position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,988,304 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 31,120 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd's holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $169,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth $887,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth $1,408,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 259,363 shares of the mining company's stock worth $18,241,000 after purchasing an additional 18,457 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth $3,728,000. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth $2,876,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $122.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.20.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $109.21 on Friday. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a one year low of $38.61 and a one year high of $129.14. The company has a market cap of $55.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.87. The business's 50 day moving average price is $105.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.40.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 26.65%.The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. On average, research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.173 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio 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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