First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Trims Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,604 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 35 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $4,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 164 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at $612,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 3,458 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GS opened at $636.80 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $374.24 and a 52 week high of $645.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $591.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $535.67. 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 $199.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.38.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the business posted $5.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 46.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 1,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $624.67, for a total value of $965,115.15. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 8,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,117,296.64. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathryn H. Ruemmler sold 7,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $634.69, for a total transaction of $4,758,905.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,086,042.41. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,017 shares of company stock worth $19,655,538 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.