The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Sold by E&G Advisors LP

E&G Advisors LP lessened its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,761 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up about 0.7% of E&G Advisors LP's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. E&G Advisors LP's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $2,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GS. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,038,057 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $594,412,000 after acquiring an additional 138,198 shares during the last quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 15,506 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $8,879,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,743 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $3,309,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,418 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $4,691,000 after purchasing an additional 2,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 1,164 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on GS. Wall Street Zen cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $585.00 to $550.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JMP Securities dropped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $600.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $595.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, Director John B. Hess bought 3,904 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.68 per share, with a total value of $1,997,598.72. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,904 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,598.72. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS traded up $18.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $688.34. The company had a trading volume of 2,848,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,378,521. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 0.90 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 $690.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $591.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $585.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.57 by $1.55. The business had revenue of $15.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.99 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 11.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $11.58 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given 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 1.74%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio 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.