Swiss National Bank Acquires 190,782 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,143,283 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 190,782 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.27% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $25,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% during the third quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 2,836,110 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $75,525,000 after purchasing an additional 962,141 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 297.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 259,120 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,900,000 after buying an additional 193,992 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $586,504,000 after buying an additional 2,491,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 1,504.8% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 391,715 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $10,419,000 after buying an additional 367,306 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU opened at $32.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.92. 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 50-day moving average price of $29.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.72. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a twelve month low of $20.05 and a twelve month high of $34.17.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for 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 year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AU. Scotiabank raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set 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 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.00.

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.