Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 213,747 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 43,709 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $122,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GS shares. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $690.00 to $660.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $782.00 to $659.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $590.60.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $543.04 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $608.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $570.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $169.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $387.12 and a 12 month high of $672.19.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.48 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 29.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.74, for a total transaction of $2,317,733.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now owns 4,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,898,440.48. This represents a 44.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total transaction of $1,275,338.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,047,349.55. This trade represents a 23.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company 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.