Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 187,503 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 575,614 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 187,503 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $407,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GS. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 28.6% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 524,296 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $286,418,000 after acquiring an additional 116,535 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth $239,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,379,900 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,392,124,000 after purchasing an additional 157,473 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at about $9,596,000. Finally, Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 21,534 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $15,240,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 2.5%

The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $887.90 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.38 and a 1 year high of $919.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $800.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $743.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $266.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The investment management company reported $12.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.27 by $1.98. The company had revenue of $15.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.68 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GS. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $854.00 to $828.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $752.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, December 1st. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $785.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $685.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $787.06.

The Goldman Sachs Group 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.