Vestcor Inc Lowers Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Vestcor Inc trimmed its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,853 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 315 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $3,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 5,235 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,998,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 21,823 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $12,496,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. Essential Planning LLC. raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Essential Planning LLC. now owns 1,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 43,421 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $24,864,000 after purchasing an additional 5,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 468.9% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 155,634 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $89,119,000 after purchasing an additional 128,276 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total value of $1,275,338.34. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,630,683. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GS shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $782.00 to $659.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $690.00 to $660.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $584.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE GS opened at $524.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $163.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $383.41 and a fifty-two week high of $672.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $613.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $566.13. 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 (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. 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 company posted $5.48 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.59%.

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.