AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Shares Purchased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 259,363 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,457 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.06% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $18,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1,175.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,967,173 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $226,354,000 after buying an additional 4,577,807 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 1,767.5% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,788,123 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $127,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,638,823 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 274.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,137,721 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $142,986,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300,204 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 2nd quarter worth $74,039,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 6.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,284,407 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,017,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,958 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of AU opened at $92.27 on Friday. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52-week low of $25.26 and a 52-week high of $93.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.43. The company has a market capitalization of $38.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32 and a beta of 0.58.

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

AngloGold Ashanti Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 80.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AU shares. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research cut AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.00.

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.