Barings LLC Has $19.35 Million Stock Holdings in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Barings LLC cut its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 861,464 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 162,271 shares during the quarter. AngloGold Ashanti makes up 0.5% of Barings LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Barings LLC owned 0.21% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $19,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at $439,000. Andra AP fonden acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at $1,912,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at $2,778,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at $406,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth about $262,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AU shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $31.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.88 and a beta of 0.92. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 1 year low of $20.05 and a 1 year high of $33.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.93 and a 200-day moving average of $27.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

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.