Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 37.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 821,927 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 223,062 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $80,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AU. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 1st quarter worth $321,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 106.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 88.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 136,543 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $6,200,000 after purchasing an additional 64,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the second quarter valued at about $1,740,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AU. Zacks Research lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.50.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of AU opened at $80.42 on Tuesday. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12 month low of $45.36 and a 12 month high of $129.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $85.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $40.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 0.65.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The mining company reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Equities research analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.04%.

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.