Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 16,198 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 16.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 82,949 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 16,198 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $5,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 129.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 490 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 330.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 964 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AU. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Roth Mkm raised their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $92.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU stock opened at $100.95 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $92.02 and a 200-day moving average of $74.56. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12-month low of $28.44 and a 12-month high of $115.81.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.02). AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 24.01% and a net margin of 26.25%.The business had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.18%.

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.