Hsbc Holdings PLC Decreases Stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 53.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,348 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 33,090 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $2,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter valued at $321,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 106.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 88.4% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 136,543 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $6,200,000 after purchasing an additional 64,066 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the second quarter valued at about $1,740,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

AU opened at $81.56 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $93.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.44. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 1 year low of $43.44 and a 1 year high of $129.14. The stock has a market cap of $41.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96 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 (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.91 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AU shares. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.80.

AngloGold Ashanti 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.