Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 4,176 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 424,143 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 4,176 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.10% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $9,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AU. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,143,283 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $25,516,000 after purchasing an additional 190,782 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 76,471.4% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 10,720 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 10,706 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 232,629 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $5,369,000 after acquiring an additional 22,654 shares during the period. Finally, Ruffer LLP boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 56.8% during the 4th quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 1,653,726 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $38,168,000 after acquiring an additional 599,266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 4.0 %

NYSE AU opened at $35.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $14.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.81. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a one year low of $20.30 and a one year high of $36.01.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of 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 raised their target price 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, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Profile

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.