AIA Group Ltd Trims Holdings in Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM)

AIA Group Ltd lowered its position in Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,993 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 931 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Newmont were worth $744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Newmont by 117.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 34,686 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,854,000 after acquiring an additional 18,722 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Newmont by 173.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,491,126 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578,545 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Newmont by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,379,901 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $88,580,000 after purchasing an additional 865,213 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Newmont during the 4th quarter valued at about $245,000. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in shares of Newmont by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 22,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 2,645 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.85% of the company’s stock.

Newmont Stock Performance

NYSE:NEM opened at $48.28 on Tuesday. Newmont Co. has a twelve month low of $36.10 and a twelve month high of $58.72. The company has a market cap of $54.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.39.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Newmont Co. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Newmont Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Newmont’s payout ratio is 34.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on NEM shares. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Newmont from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. National Bank Financial raised shares of Newmont to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities lowered their price target on shares of Newmont from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Newmont from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Newmont in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $47.20 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Natascha Viljoen sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $360,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 145,967 shares in the company, valued at $5,838,680. This trade represents a 5.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter Toth sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 82,596 shares in the company, valued at $3,303,840. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,231 shares of company stock worth $1,388,758. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

About Newmont

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.