Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 22,654 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU - Free Report) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 232,629 shares of the mining company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,654 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.06% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $5,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ruffer LLP lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 1,653,726 shares of the mining company's stock worth $38,168,000 after acquiring an additional 599,266 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at about $439,000. Andra AP fonden bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,912,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth about $2,778,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at about $406,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on AU shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.00.

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AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of AU traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.20. 3,242,533 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,310,749. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business's 50-day moving average price is $29.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.92. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 1 year low of $20.05 and a 1 year high of $34.71.

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

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. AngloGold Ashanti's dividend payout ratio is 43.13%.

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.