Cozad Asset Management Inc. Raises Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 107.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,784 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 8,674 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for approximately 0.9% of Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $9,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kathryn H. Ruemmler sold 7,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $634.69, for a total value of $4,758,905.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 1,545 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $624.67, for a total transaction of $965,115.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 8,192 shares in the company, valued at $5,117,296.64. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $542.31 on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $383.41 and a 52-week high of $672.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $612.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $567.23. The firm has a market cap of $169.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on GS shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer decreased their price target 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $594.27.

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.