Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $180.36 Million Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 364,276 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 7,644 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $180,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Diversified LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $233,000. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 747.9% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 2,639 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Merchants Corp acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $230,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

NYSE:GS traded up $12.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $566.10. 4,513,060 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,210,933. The company has a market capitalization of $177.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $372.07 and a one year high of $612.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $566.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $511.36.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.47 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.06 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.21%.

Insider Activity

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total transaction of $1,061,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,359,435.50. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $612.08, for a total transaction of $3,060,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 608,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,404,774. This trade represents a 0.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,940 shares of company stock worth $13,717,979. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $565.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $614.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $559.75.

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.