Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $1.95 Million Holdings in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 165.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,640 shares of the mining company's stock after purchasing an additional 52,740 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $1,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $467,795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,882,283 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $586,504,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491,130 shares during the last quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 170.0% in the fourth quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 3,459,193 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $79,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,177,783 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at $45,043,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at $20,311,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AU. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.80.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock traded down $0.34 on Thursday, hitting $40.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,134,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,480,903. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.23 and a 200 day moving average of $29.74. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a twelve month low of $21.66 and a twelve month high of $46.90. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $16.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.81.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

AngloGold Ashanti 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.