Lesa Sroufe & Co Buys 29,557 Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Lesa Sroufe & Co lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 136,103 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,557 shares during the quarter. AngloGold Ashanti accounts for about 2.6% of Lesa Sroufe & Co’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Lesa Sroufe & Co’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $2,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth about $16,260,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,900,771 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $393,432,000 after purchasing an additional 383,360 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank purchased a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth about $17,101,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 11.0% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 55,500 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 306.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,272,803 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $20,110,000 after purchasing an additional 959,346 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of AU stock opened at $22.11 on Wednesday. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a fifty-two week low of $14.91 and a fifty-two week high of $30.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $21.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.13.

AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $23.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, HSBC lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.25.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.