Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,580 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,608 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $9,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, Director Kevin R. Johnson bought 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $619.02 per share, for a total transaction of $1,485,648.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,485,648. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total transaction of $1,275,338.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,047,349.55. This trade represents a 23.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of GS opened at $551.86 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $611.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $567.82. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $383.71 and a fifty-two week high of $672.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.61, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. 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 Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict 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, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on GS shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $782.00 to $659.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. HSBC downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $569.00 to $608.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $594.27.

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.