Wellington Management Group LLP Takes Position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 17,395 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $392,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $42.62 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.72 and a 200 day moving average of $28.96. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 52 week low of $21.65 and a 52 week high of $43.23. The company has a market cap of $17.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AU shares. StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.25.

AngloGold Ashanti Profile

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