Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 30.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,500 shares of the mining company's stock after buying an additional 28,000 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $3,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AU. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 27,747,289 shares of the mining company's stock worth $615,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948,322 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,808,722 shares of the mining company's stock worth $373,154,000 after purchasing an additional 65,025 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 5.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,396,216 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $75,396,000 after acquiring an additional 181,081 shares in the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 24.3% in the first quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 2,201,551 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $48,874,000 after acquiring an additional 431,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,032,491 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $37,987,000 after acquiring an additional 379,701 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector underperform" rating and issued a $30.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 0.9 %

AU traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.85. 1,117,141 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,953,305. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.83. The business's 50-day moving average price is $28.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.08. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 1-year low of $15.60 and a 1-year high of $32.57.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti's previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.19. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.