Handelsbanken Fonder AB Takes $1.44 Million Position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 77,200 shares of the mining company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,443,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AU. Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 187.9% during the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 3,677 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 132.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,023 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 2,289 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 6,342 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 2,717 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 10,784 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 39,787 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $664,000 after acquiring an additional 7,457 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AU has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $23.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, HSBC cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.25.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 4.7 %

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $23.85 on Friday. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 52-week low of $14.91 and a 52-week high of $30.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.62 and a 200-day moving average of $19.23.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashanti’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.1%.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, the Americas, and Australia. 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 project located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania.