Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Invests $9.77 Million in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 423,391 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,772,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. 36.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AU. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU opened at $37.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.69 and a 200-day moving average of $28.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 1-year low of $21.65 and a 1-year high of $38.16.

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

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

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

AngloGold Ashanti Company 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.