AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank decreased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,135,311 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 5,807 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.27% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $79,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AU. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 129.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 490 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AU opened at $108.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $54.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12-month low of $30.94 and a 12-month high of $129.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.78.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.90. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 29.70% and a net margin of 26.65%. Research analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.173 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup upped their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Company 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.