Principal Street Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Principal Street Partners LLC cut its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,781 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 72 shares during the quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GS. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 1.1%

GS stock opened at $611.93 on Tuesday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $542.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $580.48. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $437.37 and a 52 week high of $672.19. The company has a market cap of $187.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.57 by $1.55. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The company had revenue of $15.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.58 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on GS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $690.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $585.00 to $550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $593.40.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, Director John B. Hess bought 3,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $511.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,997,598.72. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,904 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,598.72. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.