Bridgewater Associates LP Buys 211,008 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 113.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 396,976 shares of the mining company's stock after acquiring an additional 211,008 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.09% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $9,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Causeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth $11,195,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,064,000. Mariner LLC grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 13,109 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 3,485 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth $229,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at about $406,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on AU shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.80.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 5.3 %

AU traded down $2.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.19. 5,482,179 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,453,578. 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 52 week low of $21.65 and a 52 week high of $46.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $34.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.42.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.75 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

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

AngloGold Ashanti 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.