Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 6,839 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 366,827 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,839 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $200,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,989,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $583,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 3,817 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,186,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 92.5% in the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,817 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on GS. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $560.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $603.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John B. Hess bought 3,904 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,997,598.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,997,598.72. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock traded up $9.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $725.05. 1,502,041 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,395,824. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $613.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $590.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $437.37 and a 1-year high of $726.00. The company has a market cap of $222.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.35.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.57 by $1.55. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 11.86%. The company had revenue of $15.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $11.58 earnings per share. On average, 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

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.