Empowered Funds LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 45.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,866 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 8,091 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $5,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 30,068.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,500,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,713,325,000 after acquiring an additional 7,475,140 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,042,640 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,991,772,000 after purchasing an additional 161,133 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,898,637 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,435,144,000 after purchasing an additional 521,054 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,707,632 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $845,466,000 after buying an additional 18,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,660,088 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $898,428,000 after buying an additional 62,246 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

NYSE:GS opened at $647.32 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $600.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $548.38. 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 stock has a market cap of $200.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.39. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $375.20 and a fifty-two week high of $663.87.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 4,552 shares in the company, valued at $2,898,440.48. The trade was a 44.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.25, for a total value of $3,313,590.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,255,506.25. This trade represents a 59.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,475 shares of company stock worth $19,692,543. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.06.

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.