Ruffer LLP Sells 488,152 Shares of Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM)

Ruffer LLP reduced its stake in Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,596,949 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 488,152 shares during the period. Newmont makes up about 12.3% of Ruffer LLP’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Ruffer LLP’s holdings in Newmont were worth $318,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Seelaus Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Newmont in the first quarter valued at $262,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Newmont by 10.6% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 441,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,337,000 after acquiring an additional 42,293 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE raised its stake in shares of Newmont by 3.0% in the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 1,809,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,342,000 after acquiring an additional 52,114 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Newmont by 32.0% in the first quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 6,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Newmont by 7.0% in the first quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 45,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,178,000 after acquiring an additional 2,950 shares in the last quarter. 68.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Newmont Price Performance

NEM stock opened at $62.61 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $58.10 and a 200-day moving average of $51.42. Newmont Corporation has a 12-month low of $36.86 and a 12-month high of $66.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $68.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.30.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.48. Newmont had a return on equity of 17.86% and a net margin of 30.50%. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Newmont Corporation will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Newmont Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Newmont’s payout ratio is currently 17.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NEM. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Newmont in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. CIBC set a $74.00 price target on Newmont and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Newmont from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Newmont from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Newmont from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.58.

Insider Activity at Newmont

In related news, Director Bruce R. Brook sold 2,077 shares of Newmont stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.75, for a total transaction of $122,023.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,103 shares in the company, valued at $2,532,301.25. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter Toth sold 3,000 shares of Newmont stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total value of $162,270.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,193,381.34. This represents a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,154 shares of company stock valued at $572,889 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Newmont 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.