CENTRAL TRUST Co Sells 817 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

CENTRAL TRUST Co reduced its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 20.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,116 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 817 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on GS. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $558.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $690.00 to $660.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $660.00 to $594.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $593.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John B. Hess purchased 3,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,997,598.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,997,598.72. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

NYSE GS opened at $635.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $437.37 and a 1-year high of $672.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $575.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $583.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.57 by $1.55. The firm had revenue of $15.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.99 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.86% and a return on equity of 13.76%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $11.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.85%.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

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.