Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 372,643 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lowered its stake in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 14.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,226,060 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 372,643 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned approximately 0.53% of AngloGold Ashanti worth $55,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 7.6% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 27,747,289 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $615,990,000 after buying an additional 1,948,322 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 65,025 shares during the period. Oaktree Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 5,874,951 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $109,803,000 after buying an additional 446,132 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 5.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,396,216 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $75,396,000 after buying an additional 181,081 shares during the period. Finally, Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 24.3% in the first quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 2,201,551 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $48,874,000 after buying an additional 431,025 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 5.1 %

Shares of AU stock opened at $27.65 on Friday. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 52 week low of $14.91 and a 52 week high of $32.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.95 and a 200-day moving average of $25.75.

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti plc will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector underperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.00.

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.