Quantitative Investment Management LLC Purchases 5,920 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Quantitative Investment Management LLC grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,766 shares of the mining company’s stock after buying an additional 5,920 shares during the period. Quantitative Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 406.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,288,253 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $539,119,000 after acquiring an additional 5,047,686 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth about $426,477,000. State Street Corp increased its position 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 worth $226,354,000 after purchasing an additional 4,577,807 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 5,109.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,082,326 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $179,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,042,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 64.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,186,463 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $357,022,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641,545 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 4.0%

NYSE:AU opened at $107.87 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 1-year low of $56.62 and a 1-year high of $129.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $90.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.19.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The mining company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.03 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 39.54% and a net margin of 32.19%. On average, equities analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 6.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.50.

AngloGold Ashanti 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.