Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 1,804,620 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 10.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,847,932 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,804,620 shares during the quarter. AngloGold Ashanti accounts for 1.3% of Van ECK Associates Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 4.73% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $1,395,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AU. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,748,740 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,589,484,000 after purchasing an additional 464,333 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 5.9% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,136,739 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $361,310,000 after purchasing an additional 284,017 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 1,175.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,967,173 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $226,354,000 after purchasing an additional 4,577,807 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,197,861 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $149,212,000 after buying an additional 140,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 274.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,137,721 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $142,986,000 after buying an additional 2,300,204 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

NYSE AU opened at $108.89 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12 month low of $30.19 and a 12 month high of $129.14. The stock has a market cap of $54.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $104.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.40.

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

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.173 dividend. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 70.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.50.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.