Quantbot Technologies LP Buys Shares of 269,323 AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 269,323 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,216,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 2,836,110 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $75,525,000 after acquiring an additional 962,141 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 297.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 259,120 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $6,900,000 after acquiring an additional 193,992 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $586,504,000 after acquiring 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% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 391,715 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $10,419,000 after purchasing an additional 367,306 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AU stock opened at $35.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.14. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a one year low of $20.46 and a one year high of $36.69. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.92.

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

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid 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 is Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 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.