Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 279,590 Shares of Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,031,770 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 279,590 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of Newmont worth $75,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Newmont during the third quarter worth $407,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Newmont by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 475,146 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,397,000 after acquiring an additional 12,705 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Newmont during the 3rd quarter worth $161,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Newmont by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 126,725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,773,000 after purchasing an additional 10,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Newmont by 99.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 601,276 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,138,000 after purchasing an additional 300,400 shares during the last quarter. 68.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Newmont Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NEM opened at $44.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.54. Newmont Co. has a 1-year low of $36.60 and a 1-year high of $58.72.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $5.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Newmont had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 17.92%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Newmont Co. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Newmont Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Newmont’s payout ratio is 34.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Newmont

In related news, COO Natascha Viljoen sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $360,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 145,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,838,680. This represents a 5.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter Toth sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 82,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,303,840. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,231 shares of company stock valued at $1,388,758. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. National Bank Financial raised Newmont to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Newmont from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Newmont from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Newmont in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $47.20 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on Newmont from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.09.

Newmont Profile

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, Fiji, and Ghana.