Legal & General Group Plc Trims Stake in Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in shares of Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,631,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,645,661 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.58% of Newmont worth $246,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NEM. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Newmont by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 49,747,598 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,851,606,000 after purchasing an additional 797,445 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Newmont by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,697,779 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $919,484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213,397 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Newmont during the 4th quarter worth approximately $626,074,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in Newmont by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 12,302,579 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $481,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Newmont by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,520,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $391,568,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028,150 shares during the period. 68.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Newmont Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NEM opened at $44.91 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Newmont Co. has a 52-week low of $36.60 and a 52-week high of $58.72. The company has a market cap of $50.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.55 and a 200 day moving average of $45.09.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $5.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. Newmont had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 13.52%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Newmont Co. will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Newmont Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Newmont’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.13%.

Insider Transactions at Newmont

In other news, Director Bruce R. Brook sold 2,077 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $90,785.67. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,094,408.36. This trade represents a 4.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Peter Toth sold 3,000 shares of Newmont stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $131,130.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,782,051.46. This represents a 3.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,231 shares of company stock worth $1,388,758. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NEM. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Newmont from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Newmont in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $47.20 price objective for the company. Raymond James lifted their target price on Newmont from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Newmont to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Newmont from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.09.

Newmont Company Profile

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, Fiji, and Ghana.