Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Raises Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 506,680 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 57,393 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.16% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $290,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 163 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 486 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 660 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Pointe Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Genesee Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,024,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $690.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $660.00 to $594.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $593.40.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GS traded up $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $567.11. 1,522,482 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,373,270. The business's fifty day moving average price is $535.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $576.75. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $437.37 and a 12-month high of $672.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The company has a market cap of $174.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $12.57 by $1.55. The company had revenue of $15.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.99 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $11.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Director John B. Hess bought 3,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,997,598.72. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,997,598.72. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.