Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 43,609 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management trimmed its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 5.4%, selling 43,609 shares and leaving 768,829 shares valued at about $66.47 million per its SEC filing.
• Analysts are mixed but moderately bullish overall, with five Buys, one Hold and one Sell and an average price target of $112.20, while the stock was trading around $93.85 and down roughly 4.5%.
• AngloGold paid a quarterly dividend of $0.173 (annualized $0.69), a 0.7% yield, but the payout ratio is a high 133.33%, raising questions about dividend sustainability.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 768,829 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 43,609 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $66,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AU. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 129.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 490 shares of the mining company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 33.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 599 shares of the mining company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research cut AngloGold Ashanti from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $122.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Friday, February 20th. Scotiabank decreased their price target 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, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.20.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 4.5%

NYSE AU opened at $93.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $103.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.93. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a twelve month low of $38.61 and a twelve month high of $129.14. The company has a market capitalization of $47.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08 and a beta of 0.66.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 26.65%. Research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

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

About AngloGold Ashanti

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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