WestEnd Advisors LLC Has $49.17 Million Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

WestEnd Advisors LLC reduced its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,874 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 3,387 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group comprises approximately 1.3% of WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $49,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,582 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,268,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter worth approximately $293,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 28.3% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 32,956 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $16,312,000 after acquiring an additional 7,261 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,857 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,900,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 8,597 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $4,256,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 0.4 %

GS stock opened at $655.76 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $375.20 and a fifty-two week high of $663.87. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $203.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $600.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $546.46.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.48 EPS. The business’s revenue 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.59%.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 44.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,545 shares in the company, valued at $2,255,506.25. This trade represents a 59.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,475 shares of company stock valued at $19,692,543 over the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on 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. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. HSBC cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $569.00 to $608.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.06.

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.