Czech National Bank Raises Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,670 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,608 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $39,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GS. JGP Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 70.1% during the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,802,000 after purchasing an additional 2,114 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at $3,307,000. Sanders Morris Harris LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.8% in the first quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC now owns 11,782 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $6,462,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allied Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% in the first quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,105 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $12,076,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $585.00 to $550.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $593.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, Director John B. Hess acquired 3,904 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,997,598.72. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

NYSE GS traded up $8.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $607.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,023,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,758,234. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $553.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $582.47. The company has a market cap of $186.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.32. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $437.37 and a 52-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 posted its earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $15.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $11.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.85%.

The Goldman Sachs Group 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.