Oaktree Capital Management LP Decreases Position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Oaktree Capital Management LP lowered its position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,557,551 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 99,900 shares during the period. AngloGold Ashanti comprises 2.3% of Oaktree Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Oaktree Capital Management LP’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $128,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AU. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,411,814 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $586,504,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491,130 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,857,324 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $467,795,000 after buying an additional 3,882,283 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 39.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,448,445 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $277,968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,957,304 shares during the period. Carrhae Capital LLP lifted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 170.0% during the fourth quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 3,459,193 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $79,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,177,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TT International Asset Management LTD boosted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 2,836,110 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $75,525,000 after purchasing an additional 962,141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AU. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AU stock opened at $37.00 on Friday. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 52 week low of $21.65 and a 52 week high of $38.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. Analysts anticipate that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. AngloGold Ashanti’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

AngloGold Ashanti Profile

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.