Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 279,883 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 10,656 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $160,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:GS opened at $543.04 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $608.15 and its 200 day moving average is $572.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $387.12 and a 1 year high of $672.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted 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 the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 29.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on GS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $690.00 to $660.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $585.00 to $550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $720.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $590.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 3,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,255,506.25. The trade was a 59.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were 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 owns 4,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,898,440.48. This represents a 44.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,630,683 over the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.