Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Grows Stock Holdings in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 165.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,640 shares of the mining company's stock after buying an additional 52,740 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $1,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AU. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 546.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 211,826 shares of the mining company's stock worth $5,641,000 after buying an additional 179,045 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 327,108 shares of the mining company's stock worth $8,711,000 after purchasing an additional 8,676 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 80.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,452 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 11,352 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company's stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 3,782 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at $248,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AU stock traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $44.21. 3,833,056 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,459,186. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $18.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.81. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 12-month low of $21.65 and a 12-month high of $46.90.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AU. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.80.

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.