Northern Trust Corp Makes New Investment in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Northern Trust Corp bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 314,658 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $7,262,000. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.07% of AngloGold Ashanti at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $586,504,000 after buying an additional 2,491,130 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company's stock worth $467,795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,882,283 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position 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 during the period. Carrhae Capital LLP raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 170.0% in the fourth quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 3,459,193 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $79,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,177,783 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 3,767.1% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,751,410 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $63,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,680,261 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of AU stock opened at $42.20 on Tuesday. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a fifty-two week low of $22.13 and a fifty-two week high of $46.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $38.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The mining company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Equities research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $42.00 to $43.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.30.

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.

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