North Dakota State Investment Board Takes Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,735 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,512,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth about $699,000. Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 41,706 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $3,557,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 55,628 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $4,802,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Finally, Argos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $274,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 4.5%

Shares of NYSE:AU opened at $89.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $98.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.42. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12-month low of $42.17 and a 12-month high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 37.17% and a net margin of 31.11%. Sell-side analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 9.26 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AU shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.00.

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.