VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 132,076 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,477,000. The Goldman Sachs Group comprises approximately 0.6% of VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 617,504.5% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 29,058,291 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $20,566,005,000 after buying an additional 29,053,586 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,766,238,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $897,185,000. Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $408,780,000. Finally, Cohen Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 5,559.2% during the 1st quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 470,220 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $256,876,000 after purchasing an additional 461,911 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $750.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.38 and a twelve month high of $825.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $765.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $670.40.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The investment management company reported $12.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.27 by $1.98. The business had revenue of $11.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.68 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 13.18%.The business’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 32.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GS shares. Zacks Research cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $854.00 to $828.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $752.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $785.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $770.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.51, for a total transaction of $6,754,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 106,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,755,196.68. This represents a 7.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total transaction of $4,706,944.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 126,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828 over the last three months. 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.