Prudential PLC Sells 12,253 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Prudential PLC lowered its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,097 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 12,253 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $27,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,661,422 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $5,304,824,000 after acquiring an additional 121,676 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,138,031,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,913,172 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,319,905,000 after purchasing an additional 97,387 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,110,119 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,680,393,000 after purchasing an additional 28,642 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 18.2% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,895,752 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,345,924,000 after purchasing an additional 291,280 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting The Goldman Sachs Group

Here are the key news stories impacting The Goldman Sachs Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman highlights that the current energy supply shock should spur investment in grid infrastructure and storage — a potential source of advisory, underwriting and asset-management fees for GS. Current energy supply shock will drive investment into grid infrastructure and storage solutions: GS
• Positive Sentiment: Several pieces note GS is deeply oversold technically and that analysts remain constructive (recent price-targets above current levels), which could support a relief rally if markets stabilize or capital-markets activity picks up. Bargain Alert: Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs Look Deeply Oversold
• Neutral Sentiment: Governance update — board member Lakshmi Mittal announced retirement. Routine board turnover can be relevant for long-term governance but is unlikely to drive immediate price action. Goldman Sachs Announces Retirement of Board Member Mittal
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman trimmed a derivative-based stake in Siemens Energy to just under 5% — a portfolio move that signals repositioning but is not a major earnings driver for GS itself. Goldman Sachs Trims Derivative-Based Stake in Siemens Energy to Just Under 5%
• Negative Sentiment: Immediate sell pressure was linked to investor worries about the stability of the private credit market after a key bank announcement — contagion concerns in private markets tend to hit large universal banks and asset managers. Why Goldman Sachs (GS) Shares Are Sliding Today
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman’s elevated oil-price forecasts and widespread supply-shock commentary (Brent near $100+ forecasts and warning of much higher spikes) have helped push Treasury yields and a risk-off tone — that environment has weighed on financials and contributed to GS’s intraday weakness. Goldman Sachs forecasts oil at $100 a barrel for March
• Negative Sentiment: Macroeconomic outlook shifts — Goldman pushed back its Fed rate-cut timeline (now expecting cuts later in the year), which, together with oil-driven inflation risk, is keeping markets cautious and depressing risk assets including bank stocks. Goldman now sees first Fed rate cut in September, not June

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GS shares. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $990.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $900.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $815.00 to $826.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $898.00 to $1,087.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $919.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 4,863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $923.75, for a total transaction of $4,492,196.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,301 shares in the company, valued at $9,515,548.75. This trade represents a 32.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David A. Viniar sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $965.33, for a total transaction of $43,439,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 555,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $535,758,150. The trade was a 7.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 117,283 shares of company stock valued at $112,016,033. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock opened at $781.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $910.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $843.02. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.38 and a 52-week high of $984.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.34.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $13.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $2.03. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 13.73%.The company had revenue of $15.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $11.95 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $4.50 dividend. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.00. This represents a $18.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 35.09%.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a global investment banking and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1869 as a commercial paper business, the company has grown into a diversified financial institution that provides a broad range of services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. The firm is led by Chief Executive Officer David M. Solomon and operates across major financial centers worldwide.

Goldman Sachs’ core businesses include investment banking, global markets, asset and wealth management, and consumer banking.