AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU Shares Sold by Barometer Capital Management Inc.

Barometer Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 75.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,100 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 75,039 shares during the period. AngloGold Ashanti makes up approximately 1.0% of Barometer Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Barometer Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $2,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter worth about $3,085,000. ABN Amro Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,800,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,312 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter valued at $349,000. Finally, Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 25,631 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

NYSE AU opened at $78.43 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $86.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.77. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12-month low of $45.36 and a 12-month high of $129.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 0.65.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. Research analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is 68.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AU. Weiss Ratings lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Scotiabank dropped their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $155.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.50.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.