Axa Slashed Goldman Stake in the Second Quarter

Axa (AXAHY), the largest investor in Goldman Sachs (GS), cut its stake by more than 50% in the second quarter as the bank dealt with civil fraud charges and flagging business.

Axa, a French insurance and wealth management company, reduced its stake in Goldman from about 5% at the start of April to 2.1% at the end of June, the Financial Times reported. That's a sell-off of more than 16 million shares.

Goldman's stock dropped 23% in the second quarter, beginning the decline when the SEC charged the bank with misleading investors in an offering of collateralized debt obligations. The bank settled for $550 million in July.

Also in July, Goldman reported an 83% drop in quarterly profit.

At the end of the second quarter, Axa was the seventh-largest Goldman stockholder.