Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Holdings in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,064 shares of the mining company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,564 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $3,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AU. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,782 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 72.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,991 shares of the mining company's stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 2,520 shares during the period. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 9,581 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 0.4 %

AU stock traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $29.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,071,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,461,803. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.74. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 12-month low of $18.37 and a 12-month 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.

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

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

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

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.