Up Capital Management Inc. Purchases New Position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU

Up Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 49,582 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,228,000. AngloGold Ashanti comprises 3.8% of Up Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AU. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 454.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 471 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AU opened at $90.75 on Friday. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 12-month low of $43.44 and a 12-month high of $129.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $45.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.60.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 36.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. On average, research analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 9.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is currently 68.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Monday, May 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.00.

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.