Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 73,965 AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 73,965 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,202,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 14.2% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,675,740 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $76,376,000 after acquiring an additional 207,923 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,270,000. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth about $887,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth approximately $1,408,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 7.7% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 259,363 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $18,241,000 after buying an additional 18,457 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AU opened at $127.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market cap of $64.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $101.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.71. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a one year low of $28.44 and a one year high of $128.54.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.65% and a return on equity of 29.70%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.173 per share. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AU shares. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Company 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.