Man Group plc Grows Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Man Group plc boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 113.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,363,527 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 726,182 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.27% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $116,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,136,739 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $361,310,000 after purchasing an additional 284,017 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,777,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,139,000. Sprott Inc. grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 770,670 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $54,201,000 after purchasing an additional 16,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,523,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 3.3%

AU stock opened at $90.78 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.39. The company has a market capitalization of $45.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 2.11. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12 month low of $43.44 and a 12 month high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 9.26 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.00.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.