Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,569 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 31,901 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $86,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 224,148 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $129,144,000 after buying an additional 5,541 shares in the last quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 15,506 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $8,879,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,743 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,309,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 38,304 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $21,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,863 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $356,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 8.1 %

NYSE GS opened at $469.57 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $387.12 and a 12 month high of $672.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $597.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $573.37. 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 Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.21 by $3.74. The firm had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GS shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $720.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup lowered their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $585.00 to $550.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $782.00 to $659.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $589.19.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.25, for a total transaction of $3,313,590.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,255,506.25. This represents a 59.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathryn H. Ruemmler sold 7,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $634.69, for a total value of $4,758,905.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,086,042.41. The trade was a 43.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.