AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Stock Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 10.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,549,416 shares of the mining company’s stock after acquiring an additional 236,005 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.50% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $239,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AU. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 93.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 800,951 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $77,981,000 after purchasing an additional 387,196 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 71.1% in the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 122,179 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $11,479,000 after buying an additional 50,752 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 202,909 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $16,413,000 after buying an additional 42,714 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,313,000. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 82.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 19,213 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,577,000 after buying an additional 8,656 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 4.8%

AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $87.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.72. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52 week low of $73.40 and a 52 week high of $129.14. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $94.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.29. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The mining company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.22). AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 32.63% and a return on equity of 39.17%. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 7.96 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.1250 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. This is a negative change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is 6.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Freedom Broker upped their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $107.00 to $111.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, RBC Dominion Securities set a $110.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.35.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company that explores for, develops and operates gold mines. Gold is its primary product, and the company also produces silver and other by-products at some operations. The company’s operations and projects span Africa, Australia and the Americas. Its portfolio includes mines and development projects in countries such as Ghana, Tanzania, Guinea, Australia, Brazil and Argentina. AngloGold Ashanti was formed in 1998 through the consolidation of gold mining interests held by Anglo American in South Africa.