Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors Takes Position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,946 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $45.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,535,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,635,878. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.14. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a one year low of $22.15 and a one year high of $48.10. The stock has a market cap of $18.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.50.

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

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AU. Scotiabank upped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $42.00 to $43.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.