Northern Trust Corp Increases Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,292,679 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 428,502 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.06% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $1,885,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Mendel Capital Management LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 1,717 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $845,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 98.4% during the 4th quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 13,709 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $7,850,000 after buying an additional 6,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 557 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GS shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $560.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $558.00 price target on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Daiwa America downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $585.00 to $550.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $593.40.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GS traded up $12.95 on Friday, hitting $566.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,881,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,373,151. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $540.70 and a 200-day moving average of $574.80. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $434.92 and a 12-month high of $672.19. The company has a market capitalization of $176.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.33.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $11.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is 27.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Director John B. Hess purchased 3,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $511.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,997,598.72. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,997,598.72. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.