State of Michigan Retirement System Has $51.46 Million Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

State of Michigan Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,873 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $51,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GS. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on GS. Barclays increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $736.00 to $782.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.69.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 2.8 %

GS stock opened at $604.84 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $617.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $564.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $188.73 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.39. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $381.42 and a one year high of $672.19.

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

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kevin R. Johnson bought 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $619.02 per share, for a total transaction of $1,485,648.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,485,648. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total value of $1,275,338.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,047,349.55. This trade represents a 23.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,630,683. 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.