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

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,300 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 466 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $10,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sienna Gestion acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,753,000. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.3% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 143,410 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $64,867,000 after purchasing an additional 7,179 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 13.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 26,834 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $12,077,000 after purchasing an additional 3,133 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 11.8% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,371 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,429,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 13,658 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $6,178,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:GS opened at $484.70 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $156.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $491.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $453.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.36 and a 52 week high of $517.26.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.52 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.60 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 9.36%. On average, analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.5 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 46.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on GS shares. Seaport Res Ptn lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $513.00 to $561.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $360.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $490.00 to $535.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.44.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total transaction of $1,770,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,119,949.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total transaction of $1,770,965.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,119,949.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total transaction of $5,050,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,287,748. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.