Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Purchases 29,315 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 884,424 shares of the mining company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,315 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.21% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $62,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 129.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 490 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 330.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 964 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 1.3%

AU opened at $127.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.98. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a fifty-two week low of $28.44 and a fifty-two week high of $128.54. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $101.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61 and a beta of 0.59.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.65% and a return on equity of 29.70%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.173 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 70.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Company 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.