The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Position Decreased by Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. lessened its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,916 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,752 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for approximately 3.1% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $5,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GS. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GS. Hsbc Global Res lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. HSBC lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $569.00 to $608.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $690.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 1,545 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $624.67, for a total value of $965,115.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 8,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,117,296.64. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kevin R. Johnson purchased 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $619.02 per share, with a total value of $1,485,648.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,485,648. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $622.11 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $616.74 and a 200-day moving average of $562.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $194.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.39. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $381.42 and a 1-year high of $672.19.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The company had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The company’s revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

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.