Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Stock Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,353 shares of the mining company’s stock after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $424,000 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 the company. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter worth about $221,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 194.3% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 31,619 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 20,874 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 3,533.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 92,206 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $3,423,000 after acquiring an additional 89,668 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $392,000. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,115,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AU shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank raised their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $42.00 to $43.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.08.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

NYSE AU opened at $48.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $43.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $20.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81 and a beta of 0.49. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 1 year low of $22.45 and a 1 year high of $51.11.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The mining company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 21.09%. On average, analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.14%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.