Northern Trust Corp Cuts Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC by 2.5%, now holding approximately 306,651 shares worth about $11.38 million.
• Vanguard Group Inc. and other institutional investors increased their holdings in AngloGold Ashanti, with Vanguard owning over 21 million shares valued at $787.79 million.
• AngloGold Ashanti recently declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.80 per share, up from $0.69, with a dividend yield of 610.0%.

Northern Trust Corp decreased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 306,651 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 8,007 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.07% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $11,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AU. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $406,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $418,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,135 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,116,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,370,000. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.60.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AU traded up $2.80 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,687,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,905,400. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.54. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a twelve month low of $22.45 and a twelve month high of $65.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $52.99 and a 200 day moving average of $44.63. 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 (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The mining company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 23.60%. On average, equities analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is currently 85.11%.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.