Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Purchases New Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,602 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $950,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Roth Capital assumed coverage on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, June 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.08.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AU traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $48.05. 2,841,928 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,678,191. The company has a market cap of $20.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company's 50-day moving average price is $43.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.41. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52-week low of $22.45 and a 52-week high of $51.11.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The mining company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 21.09%. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

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.