Axa S.A. Boosts Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Axa S.A. increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 10.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,037 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 6,302 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $30,774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,012,564 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,319,470,000 after acquiring an additional 338,181 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,516,093 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,127,944,000 after purchasing an additional 150,532 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,953,461 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,910,897,000 after purchasing an additional 274,989 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth $1,903,374,000. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,293,691 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $884,837,000 after buying an additional 81,168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Seaport Res Ptn cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $464.00 to $472.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.44.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE GS opened at $497.05 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $491.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $456.98. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.36 and a 12 month high of $517.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $156.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.36.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued 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 Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 9.36%. The company had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.60 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.86%.

Insider Activity

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

The Goldman Sachs Group 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.