Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 181.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,912 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,302 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $4,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 1,175.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,967,173 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $226,354,000 after acquiring an additional 4,577,807 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1,767.5% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,788,123 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $127,027,000 after buying an additional 2,638,823 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 274.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,137,721 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $142,986,000 after buying an additional 2,300,204 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the second quarter valued at approximately $74,039,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,284,407 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,017,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,958 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $92.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 4.9%

Shares of AU opened at $109.89 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.06 and its 200 day moving average is $77.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12-month low of $28.44 and a 12-month high of $115.81. The company has a market capitalization of $55.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.21 and a beta of 0.59.

AngloGold Ashanti Company 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.