Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Stock Position in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 864,180 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 34,001 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $23,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AU. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.4% in the 3rd 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. FMR LLC increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 39.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,448,445 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $277,968,000 after acquiring an additional 2,957,304 shares during the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% during the third quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 2,836,110 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $75,525,000 after purchasing an additional 962,141 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 159.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,251,492 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $33,327,000 after purchasing an additional 768,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 395.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barings LLC now owns 1,101,183 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $27,818,000 after purchasing an additional 878,717 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AU has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Investec raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AngloGold Ashanti presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.75.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AU opened at $23.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $26.45 and its 200 day moving average is $27.07. The stock has a market cap of $9.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 0.94. AngloGold Ashanti plc has a 52-week low of $15.80 and a 52-week high of $32.57.

AngloGold Ashanti Profile

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.