AlphaQuest LLC Cuts Position in Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM)

AlphaQuest LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM) by 72.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 17,470 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Newmont were worth $247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NEM. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Newmont by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 49,747,598 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,851,606,000 after buying an additional 797,445 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Newmont by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,484,382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,253,457,000 after acquiring an additional 326,243 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Newmont by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 12,302,579 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $481,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,708 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Newmont by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,052,439 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $376,953,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Newmont by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,850,404 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $254,972,000 after purchasing an additional 92,354 shares in the last quarter. 68.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Newmont Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NEM stock opened at $46.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.73. The company has a market cap of $52.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.54. Newmont Co. has a 1 year low of $33.29 and a 1 year high of $58.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.76.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.29. Newmont had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 17.92%. The business had revenue of $5.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Newmont Co. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Newmont Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Newmont’s payout ratio is currently 34.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Peter Toth sold 3,000 shares of Newmont stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 82,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,303,840. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bruce R. Brook sold 2,077 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $83,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 52,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,082,800. The trade was a 3.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,231 shares of company stock worth $1,388,758 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NEM has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Newmont from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Newmont from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. CLSA began coverage on Newmont in a research note on Friday, November 29th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Newmont in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $47.20 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Securities decreased their target price on Newmont from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.16.

Newmont Company Profile

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, Fiji, and Ghana.