The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Stake Boosted by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,775 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $4,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,603,315,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $624,844,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 14,007.0% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,059,716 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $606,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,204 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,400.8% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 419,095 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $239,982,000 after buying an additional 391,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 45.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 544,178 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $269,428,000 after buying an additional 171,071 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 8.1 %

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $469.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $387.12 and a 12 month high of $672.19. The company has a market cap of $146.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $597.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $572.76.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.21 by $3.74. The company had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,047,349.55. The trade was a 23.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.25, for a total transaction of $3,313,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,255,506.25. The trade was a 59.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer cut The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $585.00 to $550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $720.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $782.00 to $659.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $589.19.

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.