Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Decreases Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lowered its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,856 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up 1.0% of Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $18,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth $22,357,000. Ledyard National Bank raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 486 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth $221,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 37.8% during the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 518 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McHugh Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth $229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.25, for a total value of $3,313,590.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,255,506.25. This trade represents a 59.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 1,545 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $624.67, for a total transaction of $965,115.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 8,192 shares in the company, valued at $5,117,296.64. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,475 shares of company stock valued at $19,692,543. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $657.47 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $375.20 and a 1 year high of $658.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $598.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $544.50. The company has a market capitalization of $204.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.39. 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 Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.1 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

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 given a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GS. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $686.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.06.

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.