Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Cuts Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lowered its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 252,339 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 3,870 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for about 1.5% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $144,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter worth $38,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

NYSE:GS opened at $657.47 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $375.20 and a fifty-two week high of $658.85. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $598.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $544.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.39.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.1 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.25, for a total value of $3,313,590.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,255,506.25. This represents a 59.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,047,349.55. The trade was a 23.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,475 shares of company stock valued at $19,692,543. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $736.00 to $782.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.06.

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.