Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 1.1% in Q4, buying 252,307 shares to hold 23,001,047 shares worth about $1.98 billion.
• Analysts hold a consensus of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $112.20 while the stock recently opened at $90.41 and the company has a market cap of $45.65 billion (52‑week range $38.61–$129.14).
• AngloGold reported Q4 EPS of $1.90 (matching estimates) and revenue of $3.07 billion (above estimates), and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.173 (annualized $0.69, 0.8% yield) with a payout ratio of 133.33%.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,001,047 shares of the mining company's stock after purchasing an additional 252,307 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc.'s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $1,979,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research cut AngloGold Ashanti from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Scotiabank lowered their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $122.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.20.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AU opened at $90.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.87. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a fifty-two week low of $38.61 and a fifty-two week high of $129.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $103.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.91.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.90. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 26.65%.The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given 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 yield of 0.8%. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is 133.33%.

AngloGold Ashanti Profile

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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