Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 404,244 Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD - Free Report) TSE: ABX by 80.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 905,142 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock after purchasing an additional 404,244 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.05% of Barrick Gold worth $14,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GOLD. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Barrick Gold by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 76,299,834 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $1,182,641,000 after buying an additional 1,563,361 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 2.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 54,712,508 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $1,088,484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,458,084 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,120,278 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $223,665,000 after purchasing an additional 236,116 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 33.3% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,431,497 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock worth $227,524,000 after purchasing an additional 2,854,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP grew its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 10,269,848 shares of the gold and copper producer's stock valued at $159,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.85% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Barrick Gold Stock Up 2.1 %

GOLD stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $18.73. 30,290,211 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,761,162. The firm's 50-day moving average is $17.09 and its 200-day moving average is $18.10. Barrick Gold Corp has a 12 month low of $15.11 and a 12 month high of $21.35. The company has a market cap of $32.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.15.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD - Get Free Report) TSE: ABX last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrick Gold announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the gold and copper producer to buy up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Barrick Gold's dividend payout ratio is 32.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOLD has been the topic of several research reports. Cibc World Mkts downgraded Barrick Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Barrick Gold from $23.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Barrick Gold from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Barrick Gold from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Barrick Gold currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.75.

About Barrick Gold

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.