Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 6,904 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. reduced its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 71,790 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 6,904 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $41,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JMP Securities reduced their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $600.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $690.00 to $660.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $593.40.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.25, for a total value of $3,313,590.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,545 shares in the company, valued at $2,255,506.25. The trade was a 59.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Hess purchased 3,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $511.68 per share, with a total value of $1,997,598.72. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,904 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,598.72. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of GS stock opened at $529.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $165.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.33. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.85 and a 52-week high of $672.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $553.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $572.78.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.57 by $1.55. The company had revenue of $15.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.99 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $11.58 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.85%.

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.