Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,496 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 3,423 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $945,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AU. Barings LLC grew its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 395.0% during the 2nd quarter. Barings LLC now owns 1,101,183 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $27,818,000 after purchasing an additional 878,717 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 17.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 573,380 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $14,409,000 after buying an additional 83,641 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 22,920,684 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $610,378,000 after buying an additional 80,563 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the second quarter worth $2,002,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,808,722 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $373,154,000 after acquiring an additional 65,025 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

NYSE:AU opened at $25.15 on Wednesday. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 12-month low of $15.80 and a 12-month high of $32.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AU. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector underperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com cut AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Investec upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.67.

About AngloGold Ashanti

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.