The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Position Boosted by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,096 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,523 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned about 0.05% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $97,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,584,202 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $3,761,576,000 after buying an additional 161,500 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,155,336 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $3,524,669,000 after purchasing an additional 112,696 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,586,348 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,053,614,000 after purchasing an additional 687,711 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,292,679 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,885,454,000 after purchasing an additional 428,502 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,010,583 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,723,920,000 after purchasing an additional 229,673 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

GS stock traded up $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $567.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,522,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,373,270. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $535.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $576.39. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $437.37 and a fifty-two week high of $672.19. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $12.57 by $1.55. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The firm had revenue of $15.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $11.58 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GS shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Daiwa America cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $593.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, Director John B. Hess bought 3,904 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $511.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,997,598.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,997,598.72. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.