Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) Shares Sold by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

First Eagle Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD - Free Report) TSE: ABX by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 46,567,340 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock after selling 8,230,792 shares during the period. Barrick Gold makes up approximately 1.6% of First Eagle Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 2.70% of Barrick Gold worth $721,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Barrick Gold by 19.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,613 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $9,630,000 after buying an additional 80,366 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold in the third quarter valued at approximately $444,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Barrick Gold by 4.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 149,305 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $2,970,000 after buying an additional 6,499 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in Barrick Gold by 7.0% in the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 15,912 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Barrick Gold by 21.9% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 138,232 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $2,749,000 after buying an additional 24,812 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.85% of the company's stock.

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Barrick Gold Price Performance

Shares of GOLD stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $19.35. 28,656,850 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,584,833. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $33.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $17.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.05. Barrick Gold Corp has a fifty-two week low of $0.25 and a fifty-two week high of $21.35.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Barrick Gold declared that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOLD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America lowered Barrick Gold from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Cibc World Mkts lowered Barrick Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group upgraded Barrick Gold from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.75.

Barrick Gold Profile

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.