4,983 Shares in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Bought by Optiver Holding B.V.

Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,983 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AU. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $586,504,000 after buying an additional 2,491,130 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $467,795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,882,283 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 274.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,133,744 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $118,448,000 after purchasing an additional 3,764,165 shares in the last quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 170.0% in the 4th quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 3,459,193 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $79,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,177,783 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 3,767.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,751,410 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $63,503,000 after buying an additional 2,680,261 shares during the period. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AU stock opened at $41.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $17.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 0.81. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 12 month low of $22.13 and a 12 month high of $46.90.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. Research analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Profile

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania.