Kentucky Retirement Systems Reduces Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,701 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 299 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $12,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GS. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 63 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total transaction of $1,275,338.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,047,349.55. This trade represents a 23.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.74, for a total value of $2,317,733.60. Following the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 4,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,898,440.48. This trade represents a 44.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,475 shares of company stock worth $19,692,543 over the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of GS stock opened at $642.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $610.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $556.55. 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 capitalization of $200.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.39. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $381.26 and a fifty-two week high of $672.19.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.21 by $3.74. The firm had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The company’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GS shares. Hsbc Global Res lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $736.00 to $782.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $593.56.

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.