AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Shares Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 47.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 381,627 shares of the mining company’s stock after acquiring an additional 122,507 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $8,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sprott Inc. raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,745 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,043 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 9,581 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 26,080 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $35.43 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.90. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 1-year low of $21.23 and a 1-year high of $36.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $14.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.92.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. On average, analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.00.

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.