Ascent Group LLC Acquires 403 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 23.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,154 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 403 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 650 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 94.5% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 265,361 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $151,951,000 after purchasing an additional 128,925 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,726 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,706,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,691,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

NYSE GS opened at $598.99 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $548.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $581.80. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $437.37 and a 12-month high of $672.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The company has a market cap of $183.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly 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 Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The business had revenue of $15.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $11.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is 27.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on GS shares. Daiwa America lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JMP Securities lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $593.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John B. Hess acquired 3,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.68 per share, with a total value of $1,997,598.72. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,997,598.72. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group 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.