AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Shares Acquired by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 3,767.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,751,410 shares of the mining company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,680,261 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.66% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $63,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AU. State Street Corp increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 546.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 211,826 shares of the mining company's stock worth $5,641,000 after buying an additional 179,045 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,606,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 327,108 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $8,711,000 after purchasing an additional 8,676 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 80.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,452 shares of the mining company's stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 11,352 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company's stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 3,782 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AU shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.80.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 5.3 %

AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $43.19 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $34.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.29. The company has a market cap of $18.13 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.81. 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 plc has a 1-year low of $21.65 and a 1-year high of $46.90.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

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.

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