Diversified Trust Co Raises Stock Holdings in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 104.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,444 shares of the mining company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,411 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $1,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth approximately $6,054,000. Burney Co. acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter valued at $2,499,000. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth about $611,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,456 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at about $887,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AU shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AU opened at $85.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $35.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.27 and a 200-day moving average of $65.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52 week low of $22.77 and a 52 week high of $91.65.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.02). AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 24.01% and a net margin of 26.25%.The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.18%.

AngloGold Ashanti Profile

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.