The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 9.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $10,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 19.9% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,582 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,268,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 25.5% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,013 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $5,018,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,529,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 21,780 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $9,097,000 after purchasing an additional 7,826 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

NYSE:GS opened at $593.51 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $334.55 and a 1-year high of $607.15. The stock has a market cap of $186.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $518.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $488.35.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 9.89%. The firm had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.47 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 35.21%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total transaction of $1,061,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,359,435.50. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total value of $3,826,245.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,358,685.04. This represents a 10.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,390 shares of company stock worth $6,656,119. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $614.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $565.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $535.75.

The Goldman Sachs Group Profile

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.