West Michigan Advisors LLC Sells 33,886 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Key Points

• West Michigan Advisors reduced its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 82.5% in Q4, selling 33,886 shares and leaving 7,177 shares valued at $612,000.
• Quarterly results: AngloGold reported $1.90 EPS (in line with estimates) and $3.07 billion in revenue (above the $2.99B consensus), with a net margin of 26.65% and ROE of 29.11%.
• Dividend: the company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.173 (annualized $0.69) for a 0.7% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 133.33%.

West Michigan Advisors LLC lessened its position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 82.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,177 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 33,886 shares during the quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC's holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AU. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 129.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 490 shares of the mining company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 599 shares of the mining company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AU shares. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and issued a $122.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.20.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 2.2%

AU stock opened at $96.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64 and a beta of 0.66. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12 month low of $38.61 and a 12 month high of $129.14. The firm's 50-day moving average is $104.45 and its 200 day moving average is $92.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 2.20.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.90. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.65% and a return on equity of 29.11%. On average, research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.78 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.173 dividend. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 133.33%.

AngloGold Ashanti Company 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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