AngloGold Ashanti PLC $AU is Oaktree Capital Management LP’s 5th Largest Position

Oaktree Capital Management LP lowered its position in AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU) by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,185,261 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 762,476 shares during the quarter. AngloGold Ashanti makes up about 2.3% of Oaktree Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Oaktree Capital Management LP’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $294,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AU. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 129.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 490 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 330.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 964 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock traded down $6.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $98.62. 865,666 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,905,726. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.06. The firm has a market cap of $49.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94 and a beta of 0.55. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 52-week low of $31.91 and a 52-week high of $129.14.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The mining company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.90. AngloGold Ashanti had a return on equity of 29.70% and a net margin of 26.65%.The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.173 dividend. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. AngloGold Ashanti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AU has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Five 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.50.

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.