Invesco Ltd. Grows Stake in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 19.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,997,925 shares of the mining company’s stock after buying an additional 321,951 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.48% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $46,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AU. Sprott Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 91,168 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,104,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 8,860 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,745 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,043 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 3.1 %

AU opened at $43.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $18.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.81. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 12 month low of $21.65 and a 12 month high of $44.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. On average, 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on AU shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.25.

AngloGold Ashanti 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.