HighTower Advisors LLC Takes $2.49 Million Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 66,993 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,487,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AU. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter valued at $37,451,000. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter valued at $1,311,000. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter valued at $63,186,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 0.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,006,411 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $74,478,000 after purchasing an additional 8,486 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter valued at $77,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AU shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.60.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 0.4%

AU stock opened at $54.6120 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12 month low of $22.45 and a 12 month high of $59.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.30.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The mining company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 23.60% and a return on equity of 22.54%. As a group, analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a yield of 610.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.69. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

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.