AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Shares Purchased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 135,064 shares of the mining company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,564 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $3,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 3,782 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 72.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,991 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 2,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 9,581 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $31.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.69. The stock has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.14. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 1-year low of $17.94 and a 1-year high of $33.77.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. On average, analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AU. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Profile

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.