Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Acquires 4,888 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 38.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,500 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,888 shares during the period. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD.’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $1,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AU. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,408,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 7.7% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 259,363 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $18,241,000 after purchasing an additional 18,457 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter worth $3,728,000. Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter worth $2,876,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 5.9% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,136,739 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $361,310,000 after purchasing an additional 284,017 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE AU opened at $108.30 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.75. The company has a market capitalization of $54.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12 month low of $37.34 and a 12 month high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.90. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 26.65%.The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Research analysts forecast that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.173 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.20.

AngloGold Ashanti Profile

AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, production, processing and sale of gold. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company’s core activities span the full mining value chain from greenfield exploration and mine development through to ore processing and rehabilitation. Gold is the primary commodity produced, with individual operations sometimes yielding other by‑products depending on local geology and processing methods.

The company was formed in 2004 through the merger of AngloGold and Ashanti Goldfields, creating a diversified international gold producer.