The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Sold by Utah Retirement Systems

Utah Retirement Systems reduced its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,899 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 1,274 shares during the quarter. Utah Retirement Systems' holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $29,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $911,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 8.8% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,553 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 400.0% during the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 375 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $228,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,230 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,094,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, Director John B. Hess purchased 3,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 3,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,997,598.72. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 2.3 %

GS stock traded up $12.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $566.78. The company had a trading volume of 2,881,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,373,151. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $540.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $574.80. 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 market capitalization of $176.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.33. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $434.92 and a fifty-two week high of $672.19.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.57 by $1.55. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $15.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $11.58 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $690.00 to $660.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $660.00 to $594.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $593.40.

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.