Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Sells 4,074 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,623 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 4,074 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up 1.0% of Essex Investment Management Co. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $4,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 88.0% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 94 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, CNB Bank lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 55.7% in the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 165 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total value of $5,001,372.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,602,947.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total transaction of $4,550,956.00. Following the sale, the treasurer now owns 18,408 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,190,901.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total transaction of $5,001,372.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,947.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,330 shares of company stock valued at $11,713,578 in the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $410.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $450.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $445.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Edward Jones began coverage on The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $440.57.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of GS stock traded down $0.83 on Friday, hitting $454.73. The stock had a trading volume of 1,823,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,744,462. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $410.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $379.89. The company has a market cap of $146.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.40. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $289.36 and a one year high of $458.75.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.54 by $3.04. The business had revenue of $14.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.94 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 8.86%. The firm's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.79 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 36.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a $2.75 dividend. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is currently 42.95%.

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.

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