Groupe la Francaise Acquires 74,855 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Groupe la Francaise raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 39.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 264,855 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,855 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise owned approximately 0.05% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $25,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AU. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the first quarter valued at about $321,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 106.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,734 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 88.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 136,543 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $6,200,000 after buying an additional 64,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the second quarter worth about $1,740,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 5.7%

Shares of AU opened at $82.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market cap of $41.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.65. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52-week low of $45.36 and a 52-week high of $129.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $84.53 and its 200-day moving average is $96.27.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.25. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is 68.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Roth Capital dropped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.50.

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.