KCM Investment Advisors LLC Invests $159,000 in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,288 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock, valued at approximately $159,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Barrick Gold by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 64,310,800 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $996,802,000 after acquiring an additional 9,598,292 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Barrick Gold by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,650,999 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $169,261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,603,744 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE acquired a new position in Barrick Gold during the 4th quarter worth $33,726,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Barrick Gold by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 76,299,834 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $1,182,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 10,269,848 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $159,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Barrick Gold Stock Performance

Shares of GOLD opened at $17.64 on Monday. Barrick Gold Corp has a one year low of $15.11 and a one year high of $21.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The stock has a market cap of $30.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.98.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrick Gold declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the gold and copper producer to purchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Barrick Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GOLD shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America downgraded Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Barrick Gold to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Canada upgraded Barrick Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Barrick Gold currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.79.

About Barrick Gold

Barrick Gold Corporation is a sector-leading gold and copper producer.  Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GOLD and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ABX.
 
In January 2019 Barrick merged with Randgold Resources and in July that year it combined its gold mines in Nevada, USA, with those of Newmont Corporation in a joint venture, Nevada Gold Mines, which is majority-owned and operated by Barrick.