42,000 Shares in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Bought by Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 42,000 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $969,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sprott Inc. lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 91,168 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,104,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 8,860 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,043 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 9.3 %

AU stock opened at $33.55 on Friday. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 1-year low of $21.65 and a 1-year high of $38.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $32.56 and its 200-day moving average is $28.46. The firm has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.81.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.25.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.