Barings LLC Has $19.35 Million Stock Position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Barings LLC cut its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 861,464 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 162,271 shares during the quarter. AngloGold Ashanti accounts for about 0.5% of Barings LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Barings LLC owned 0.21% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $19,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $586,504,000 after buying an additional 2,491,130 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,448,445 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $277,968,000 after acquiring an additional 2,957,304 shares during the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 2,836,110 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $75,525,000 after acquiring an additional 962,141 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,043,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,934,603 shares of the mining company's stock worth $44,651,000 after buying an additional 542,463 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AU shares. Scotiabank lifted 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, February 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:AU traded down $0.41 on Wednesday, hitting $31.68. 1,652,284 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,303,446. 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 plc has a 52 week low of $20.05 and a 52 week high of $33.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50-day moving average price is $29.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.67.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. On average, 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is currently 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.