The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Bought by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,161 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,286 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $85,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,696 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $9,561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,265 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $8,168,000 after buying an additional 1,335 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 213,747 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $122,396,000 after acquiring an additional 43,709 shares during the period. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at $309,000. Finally, Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth $16,430,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $690.00 to $660.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $593.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the treasurer now owns 4,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,898,440.48. This trade represents a 44.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

NYSE:GS opened at $559.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $174.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a P/E/G 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $387.12 and a 52 week high of $672.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $609.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $570.55.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The company had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 29.59%.

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.