Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Takes $950,000 Position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth $254,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 308,991 shares of the mining company's stock worth $7,132,000 after purchasing an additional 35,500 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,745 shares of the mining company's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 135,064 shares of the mining company's stock worth $3,117,000 after purchasing an additional 15,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,934,603 shares of the mining company's stock worth $44,651,000 after purchasing an additional 542,463 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AU shares. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Roth Capital started coverage on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $52.00 price target 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 stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered 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 given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.08.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 4.3%

AU stock opened at $50.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $42.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.05. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 52 week low of $22.34 and a 52 week high of $51.71. The company has a market capitalization of $21.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 0.49.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The mining company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.14%. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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