PGGM Investments Has $9.72 Million Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

PGGM Investments grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 86.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,487 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 9,960 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $9,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 166,656 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $64,291,000 after purchasing an additional 20,018 shares in the last quarter. HTLF Bank acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $850,000. Apexium Financial LP increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 5,672 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 62.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,301 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,632,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares during the period. Finally, Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,388,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of GS stock traded up $6.76 on Wednesday, hitting $498.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,421,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,339,987. The business has a 50 day moving average of $473.25 and a 200 day moving average of $434.43. The stock has a market cap of $160.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.36 and a 12-month high of $517.26.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.52 by $0.10. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The company had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.60 billion. As a group, analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 36.74 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,981,022 shares in the company, valued at $82,299,679.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total transaction of $1,770,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $6,119,949.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,013,500 shares of company stock worth $32,181,365. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GS shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $360.00 to $373.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $493.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $450.00 to $478.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Argus raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $465.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.94.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

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.