ING Groep NV Sells 24,061 Shares of Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD)

ING Groep NV reduced its stake in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 233,229 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock after selling 24,061 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Barrick Gold were worth $3,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOLD. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Gold in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Barrick Gold by 451.7% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas boosted its stake in Barrick Gold by 221.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 3,066 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Barrick Gold by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the gold and copper producer’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Barrick Gold in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Institutional investors own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GOLD shares. Bank of America cut Barrick Gold from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from $37.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities cut their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Barrick Gold from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.75.

Barrick Gold Stock Down 2.7 %

NYSE GOLD opened at $18.31 on Friday. Barrick Gold Corp has a 1-year low of $14.27 and a 1-year high of $21.35. The company has a market capitalization of $31.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $16.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSE:ABX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 16.59%. Equities analysts forecast that Barrick Gold Corp will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrick Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Barrick Gold’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

Barrick Gold declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the gold and copper producer to purchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Barrick Gold Company Profile

Barrick Gold Corporation is a sector-leading gold and copper producer.  Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GOLD and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ABX.
 
In January 2019 Barrick merged with Randgold Resources and in July that year it combined its gold mines in Nevada, USA, with those of Newmont Corporation in a joint venture, Nevada Gold Mines, which is majority-owned and operated by Barrick.