Candriam S.C.A. Reduces Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 12.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,442 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 204 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,989,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.0% in 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. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 37.0% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 100 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth approximately $223,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 25.1% during the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,861 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $5,387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,980 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HSBC boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $652.00 to $677.00 in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $843.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $750.00 target price (up previously from $625.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $752.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $786.00.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total value of $6,934,016.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 115,268 shares in the company, valued at $86,463,679.48. This trade represents a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

GS stock opened at $776.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $232.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $785.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $713.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.38 and a 12-month high of $841.28.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The investment management company reported $12.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.27 by $1.98. The company had revenue of $15.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.68 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 13.18%.The Goldman Sachs Group’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be given a $4.00 dividend. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.50%.

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.