Qtron Investments LLC Has $1.69 Million Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Qtron Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 159.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 37,542 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,070 shares during the period. Qtron Investments LLC’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $1,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 1st quarter worth about $1,162,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 84.2% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 127,220 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,722,000 after acquiring an additional 58,169 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,002,449 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $787,791,000 after purchasing an additional 145,125 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 20.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 458,843 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $17,032,000 after purchasing an additional 77,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter valued at approximately $884,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AU stock opened at $82.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12-month low of $22.45 and a 12-month high of $89.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.35 and a 200-day moving average of $60.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 0.58.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 11th. The mining company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.02). AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 24.50% and a net margin of 26.25%.The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 80.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AU. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.83.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania.