Precision Wealth Strategies LLC Invests $611,000 in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Precision Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,681 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AU. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,456 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter worth approximately $887,000. TrueWealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. TrueWealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,502 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 2,499 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,114 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monument Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter worth $3,515,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Roth Capital increased their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:AU opened at $89.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73 and a beta of 0.58. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52 week low of $22.45 and a 52 week high of $91.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $78.62 and a 200 day moving average of $64.31.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 24.01% and a net margin of 26.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.18%.

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.