25,553 Shares in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Purchased by Scientech Research LLC

Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 25,553 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $949,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth about $7,262,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth about $418,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,135 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 1,402 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,116,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth $1,370,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four 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 a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.60.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU stock traded up $0.61 on Friday, reaching $66.16. 1,638,745 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,137,395. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a twelve month low of $22.45 and a twelve month high of $66.45. The firm has a market cap of $27.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.37 and a 200-day moving average of $44.86.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The mining company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.29 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 23.60%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 610.0%. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio is 85.11%.

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.