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

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 37.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,646 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 5,668 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $3,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 166,656 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $64,291,000 after purchasing an additional 20,018 shares during the period. HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $850,000. Wealth Alliance grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,035 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $989,000. Finally, TBH Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,190,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GS opened at $423.04 on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.36 and a fifty-two week high of $425.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $398.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $368.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $137.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.43.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.54 by $3.04. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 8.17%. The business had revenue of $14.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.79 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.39 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $2.75 per share. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 42.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total transaction of $4,550,956.00. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 18,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,190,901.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total transaction of $4,550,956.00. Following the sale, the treasurer now owns 18,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,190,901.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total value of $5,001,372.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,947.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $437.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $446.00 to $479.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $349.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $434.93.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company 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.