Aura Minerals Inc. $AUGO Stock: Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Position

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO) by 194.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,345 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,899 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Aura Minerals worth $3,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aura Minerals during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Aura Minerals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Triumph Capital Management lifted its position in Aura Minerals by 32.4% in the second quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Aura Minerals by 522.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMG Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Aura Minerals in the third quarter valued at about $211,000.

Aura Minerals Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of AUGO stock traded down $2.92 on Friday, hitting $75.02. The stock had a trading volume of 495,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,486. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.82. Aura Minerals Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.91 and a 1 year high of $110.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $82.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.19.

Aura Minerals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. Aura Minerals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AUGO shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Aura Minerals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aura Minerals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 8th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Aura Minerals in a report on Thursday, September 17th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Santander cut shares of Aura Minerals from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aura Minerals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.95.

Insider Transactions at Aura Minerals

In other Aura Minerals news, Director Mauad Sousa sold 280,000 shares of Aura Minerals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.67, for a total value of $22,867,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 168,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,783,037.55. The trade was a 62.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Glauber Luvizotto sold 64,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.20, for a total transaction of $5,189,982.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 224,515 shares in the company, valued at $18,006,103. This trade represents a 22.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 263,011 shares of company stock valued at $22,662,070 and have sold 1,476,916 shares valued at $126,888,467.

About Aura Minerals

Aura Minerals is a mining company focused on exploring, developing and operating gold and copper properties in the Americas. Its operations also produce silver as a byproduct at some sites. The company’s portfolio includes mines and projects in Brazil, Mexico and Honduras. Its activities span the mining lifecycle, from resource exploration and project development to the production and sale of metals. Aura Minerals is led by Chief Executive Officer Rodrigo Barbosa. The company has expanded its portfolio over time through mine development and acquisitions.