Yacktman Asset Management LP Sells 33,151 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Yacktman Asset Management LP decreased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 17.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 157,306 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 33,151 shares during the period. Yacktman Asset Management LP's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $71,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,012,564 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,319,470,000 after buying an additional 338,181 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,516,093 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,127,944,000 after purchasing an additional 150,532 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,195,203 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,004,153,000 after purchasing an additional 27,524 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,953,461 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,910,897,000 after purchasing an additional 274,989 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,895,928 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,044,980,000 after purchasing an additional 141,538 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE GS traded down $2.84 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $487.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,826,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,268,249. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $487.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $446.81. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.36 and a twelve month high of $517.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.36.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.52 by $0.10. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.60 billion. Analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.07 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is currently 46.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $6,119,949.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total transaction of $25,360,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,981,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,299,679.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,013,500 shares of company stock worth $32,181,365 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Five 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 Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $495.94.

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.