AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Shares Sold by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC reduced its position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 30.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,316,586 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 3,131,859 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned about 1.74% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $166,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $586,504,000 after acquiring an additional 2,491,130 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $467,795,000 after buying an additional 3,882,283 shares during the last quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 170.0% during the 4th quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 3,459,193 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $79,838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,177,783 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth $45,043,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,934,603 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $44,651,000 after acquiring an additional 542,463 shares during the period. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.25.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 10.3 %

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $42.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $33.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.85. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 52-week low of $21.65 and a 52-week high of $43.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. On average, analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

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.