AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Stock Holdings Decreased by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank reduced its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,135,311 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 5,807 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $79,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 181.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 384,959 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $27,068,000 after purchasing an additional 248,416 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth approximately $389,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 107,548 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $7,564,000 after purchasing an additional 15,755 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 33.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,067,339 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $215,726,000 after buying an additional 766,310 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 71.6% in the third quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 12,966 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $912,000 after purchasing an additional 5,409 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AU opened at $108.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $105.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.67 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86 and a beta of 0.55. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52 week low of $30.94 and a 52 week high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 29.70% and a net margin of 26.65%.The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.173 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.13%.

AngloGold Ashanti Profile

AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, production, processing and sale of gold. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company’s core activities span the full mining value chain from greenfield exploration and mine development through to ore processing and rehabilitation. Gold is the primary commodity produced, with individual operations sometimes yielding other by‑products depending on local geology and processing methods.

The company was formed in 2004 through the merger of AngloGold and Ashanti Goldfields, creating a diversified international gold producer.