Franklin Resources Inc. cut its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 725,375 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 138,805 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.17% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $16,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sprott Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 91,168 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $2,104,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,745 shares of the mining company's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,043 shares of the mining company's stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
AU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.25.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on AU
AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 10.3 %
Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock traded up $3.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $42.84. The stock had a trading volume of 6,968,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,441,728. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $17.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.81. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 52 week low of $21.65 and a 52 week high of $43.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.85.
AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS 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 $0.69 dividend. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti's payout ratio is currently 43.13%.
AngloGold Ashanti Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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