Merit Financial Group LLC Takes $381,000 Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,419 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $381,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 579.2% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,664 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 162.5% in the 2nd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AU opened at $92.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.98. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a one year low of $25.26 and a one year high of $93.85. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $83.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.43. The company has a market capitalization of $38.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32 and a beta of 0.58.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 24.01% and a net margin of 26.25%. Analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is 80.18%.

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.