Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 138,805 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 725,375 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 138,805 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $16,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AU. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $586,504,000 after acquiring an additional 2,491,130 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $467,795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,882,283 shares during the last quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 170.0% during the 4th quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 3,459,193 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $79,838,000 after buying an additional 2,177,783 shares in the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 2,836,110 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $75,525,000 after buying an additional 962,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,043,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $33.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.98 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 12-month low of $21.65 and a 12-month high of $38.63.

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

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.25.

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.