Yacktman Asset Management LP Lowers Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Yacktman Asset Management LP lessened its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 91.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,873 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 101,321 shares during the quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $4,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,584,202 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $3,761,576,000 after buying an additional 161,500 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 63,864.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,976,684 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,172,423,000 after buying an additional 3,970,467 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,586,348 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,053,614,000 after buying an additional 687,711 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,292,679 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,885,454,000 after buying an additional 428,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,766,238,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, Director John B. Hess purchased 3,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $511.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,997,598.72. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,904 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,598.72. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of GS traded up $10.47 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $707.03. The company had a trading volume of 695,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,386,805. The company's fifty day moving average price is $626.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $594.60. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $437.37 and a one year high of $726.00. The company has a market capitalization of $216.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $14.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $11.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GS. Barclays dropped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $627.00 target price (up previously from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Daiwa America cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $614.00.

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.