Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,942,807 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 193,932 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $426,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AU. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the first quarter valued at approximately $321,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 106.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 88.4% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 136,543 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,200,000 after acquiring an additional 64,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the second quarter worth $1,740,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

NYSE:AU opened at $90.58 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.11. The company has a market cap of $45.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52 week low of $42.62 and a 52 week high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 37.17%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 9.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 101.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.00.

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.