California Public Employees Retirement System Raises Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 7.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 569,386 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,870 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.19% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $402,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,800.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 38 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 45.9% in the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 54 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of GS stock opened at $854.06 on Friday. 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 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $439.38 and a one year high of $856.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $790.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $734.14. The company has a market capitalization of $256.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.36.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The investment management company reported $12.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.27 by $1.98. The company had revenue of $15.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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 Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, December 1st. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $685.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Dbs Bank lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $854.00 to $828.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Zacks Research cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $786.00.

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.