AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Up to $23.85

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $23.85, but opened at $24.64. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $24.18, with a volume of 817,087 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.86.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.19 dividend. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.03. This represents a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AU. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter worth about $282,000. APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter worth about $2,163,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 395.1% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 82,383 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 65,743 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 51.6% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,050,334 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $48,572,000 after acquiring an additional 697,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 44.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,412,291 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $33,457,000 after acquiring an additional 432,001 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, the Americas, and Australia. 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 project located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania.