The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Sold by WestEnd Advisors LLC

WestEnd Advisors LLC decreased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,671 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 4,203 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for about 1.2% of WestEnd Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. WestEnd Advisors LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $44,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 138,198 shares during the last quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,743 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $3,309,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 65.7% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,418 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $4,691,000 after acquiring an additional 2,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 1,164 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities lowered their price objective 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. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $595.67.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded up $3.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $690.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,644,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,375,929. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $437.37 and a fifty-two week high of $694.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $598.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $587.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 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 the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $11.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.85%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, Director John B. Hess purchased 3,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,997,598.72. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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.