Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) Shares Acquired by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC raised its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD - Free Report) TSE: ABX by 87.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,112 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock after purchasing an additional 18,684 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 76,299,834 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $1,182,641,000 after buying an additional 1,563,361 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,358,533 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $1,060,036,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,585 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Barrick Gold by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 64,310,800 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $996,802,000 after acquiring an additional 9,598,292 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in Barrick Gold by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 14,120,278 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $223,665,000 after acquiring an additional 236,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Barrick Gold by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,999 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $169,261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,603,744 shares during the period. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Barrick Gold Stock Performance

GOLD stock traded up $1.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.59. The stock had a trading volume of 41,724,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,921,418. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.92. Barrick Gold Corp has a 52-week low of $15.11 and a 52-week high of $21.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market cap of $35.41 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Barrick Gold declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the gold and copper producer to repurchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GOLD. National Bankshares reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Barrick Gold in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Barrick Gold from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Barrick Gold from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.04.

About Barrick Gold

Barrick Gold Corporation is a sector-leading gold and copper producer.  Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GOLD and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ABX.   In January 2019 Barrick merged with Randgold Resources and in July that year it combined its gold mines in Nevada, USA, with those of Newmont Corporation in a joint venture, Nevada Gold Mines, which is majority-owned and operated by Barrick.