Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Sells 2,624,314 Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 71.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,035,495 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after selling 2,624,314 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $16,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 619.7% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,073 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 2,646 shares during the period. BNP Paribas lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 221.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 3,066 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 196.9% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America downgraded Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upgraded Barrick Gold from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Barrick Gold from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Cibc World Mkts downgraded Barrick Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.75.

Barrick Gold Price Performance

Shares of GOLD opened at $18.38 on Thursday. Barrick Gold Corp has a 12-month low of $15.11 and a 12-month high of $21.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $31.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.58.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. Analysts anticipate that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

Barrick Gold announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the gold and copper producer to buy up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Barrick Gold

Barrick Gold Corporation is a sector-leading gold and copper producer.  Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GOLD and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ABX.
 
In January 2019 Barrick merged with Randgold Resources and in July that year it combined its gold mines in Nevada, USA, with those of Newmont Corporation in a joint venture, Nevada Gold Mines, which is majority-owned and operated by Barrick.