LPL Financial LLC Lowers Position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

LPL Financial LLC trimmed its position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,051 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 8,106 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $1,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AU. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company's stock worth $586,504,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491,130 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth $45,043,000. Ruffer LLP grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 56.8% during the fourth quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 1,653,726 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $38,168,000 after buying an additional 599,266 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,934,603 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $44,651,000 after acquiring an additional 542,463 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth $10,297,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AU. Scotiabank boosted their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.80.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AU traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.15. The company had a trading volume of 5,754,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,465,612. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a twelve month low of $21.66 and a twelve month high of $46.90. The stock has a market cap of $18.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $35.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.66.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. On average, research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

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