Diversified Trust Co Purchases 18,783 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 57.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,592 shares of the mining company’s stock after buying an additional 18,783 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $5,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 5.9% in the 3rd 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at $13,777,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at $1,139,000. Sprott Inc. increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 770,670 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $54,201,000 after purchasing an additional 16,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth $6,523,000. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $90.75 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.38. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12-month low of $43.44 and a 12-month high of $129.14. The company has a market capitalization of $45.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.25. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 36.41% and a net margin of 31.11%.The business had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 9.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Monday, May 11th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Company 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.