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

Birinyi Associates Inc. decreased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,646 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 119 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for 1.8% of Birinyi Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Birinyi Associates Inc.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $6,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 163 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 486 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 660 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $686.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.56.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $614.86 on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $381.42 and a twelve 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $613.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $560.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.39.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.48 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 29.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 $2,898,440.48. The trade was a 44.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,550 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $610.91, for a total value of $4,001,460.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 117,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,015,903.53. This trade represents a 5.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,475 shares of company stock valued at $19,692,543 in the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.