South Dakota Investment Council Trims Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,955 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $4,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 30,068.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,500,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,713,325,000 after acquiring an additional 7,475,140 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,042,640 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,991,772,000 after acquiring an additional 161,133 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,898,637 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,435,144,000 after acquiring an additional 521,054 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,707,632 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $845,466,000 after purchasing an additional 18,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,660,088 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $898,428,000 after purchasing an additional 62,246 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, HSBC cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $569.00 to $608.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $593.56.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of GS opened at $625.70 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $195.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $611.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $558.92. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $381.42 and a 1-year high of $672.19.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.21 by $3.74. The business had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, insider Kathryn H. Ruemmler sold 7,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $634.69, for a total value of $4,758,905.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,589 shares in the company, valued at $6,086,042.41. This represents a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $610.91, for a total value of $4,001,460.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 117,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,015,903.53. This trade represents a 5.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,475 shares of company stock worth $19,692,543 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, a financial institution, provides a range of financial services for corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It operates through Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions segments. The Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial advisory services, including strategic advisory assignments related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, and spin-offs; and relationship lending, and acquisition financing, as well as secured lending, through structured credit and asset-backed lending and involved in financing under securities to resale agreements.