Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 33.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,592 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,618 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $7,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the first quarter worth about $321,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position 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 valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 106.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 88.4% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 136,543 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $6,200,000 after buying an additional 64,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,740,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of AU stock opened at $81.56 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.60. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a fifty-two week low of $43.44 and a fifty-two week high of $129.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.25. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 68.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AU has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm decreased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $121.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.80.

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.