First Eagle Investment Management LLC Sells 7,768 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,517,132 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 7,768 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned about 0.60% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $58,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sprott Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 91,168 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,104,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 210.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,745 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,043 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 9,581 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $32.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $13.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.73. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a twelve month low of $20.05 and a twelve month high of $33.77.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. Research 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. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a yield of 2.8%. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is 43.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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