Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $19.08 Million in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 235,774 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,078,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the first quarter valued at about $321,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 106.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,734 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 88.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 136,543 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,200,000 after acquiring an additional 64,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,740,000. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 4.2%

NYSE:AU opened at $113.38 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $89.41 and a 200-day moving average of $96.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.66. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52 week low of $55.08 and a 52 week high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 39.54% and a net margin of 32.19%. Analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.14 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is 6.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AU shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank dropped their target price 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.50.

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.