Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Buys 35,500 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 308,991 shares of the mining company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,500 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.07% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $7,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter valued at $126,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 72.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,991 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,520 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AU traded down $0.23 on Friday, reaching $31.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,278,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,448,386. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 52-week low of $17.01 and a 52-week high of $33.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.65.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.75 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AU. Scotiabank raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.