Cibc World Markets Corp Acquires Shares of 15,000 AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,000 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 297.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 259,120 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $6,900,000 after acquiring an additional 193,992 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth approximately $368,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,448,445 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $277,968,000 after acquiring an additional 2,957,304 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 80.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 185,968 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $4,952,000 after acquiring an additional 82,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 209,975 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $5,592,000 after acquiring an additional 9,706 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

NYSE:AU opened at $34.84 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $14.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.92. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a twelve month low of $21.23 and a twelve month high of $36.69. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.94.

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. On average, analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.