Fisher Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,155,336 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 112,696 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for approximately 1.4% of Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $3,524,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 21.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,898,637 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,435,144,000 after acquiring an additional 521,054 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.1% in the third 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 valued at $845,466,000 after acquiring an additional 18,541 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,660,088 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $898,428,000 after acquiring an additional 62,246 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 14,007.0% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,059,716 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $606,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052,204 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of GS stock opened at $622.11 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $616.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $562.46. 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 stock has a market cap of $194.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.39. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $381.42 and a twelve month high of $672.19.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The firm had revenue of $13.87 billion for 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 Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $569.00 to $608.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $690.00 to $660.00 in a research note on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,898,440.48. The trade was a 44.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.25, for a total value of $3,313,590.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,255,506.25. This represents a 59.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.