ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 55,355 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 34.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 215,485 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 55,355 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $123,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GS. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.5%

GS traded up $3.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $618.91. 2,018,441 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,385,126. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $541.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $579.02. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $437.37 and a fifty-two week high of $672.19. The stock has a market cap of $189.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.32. 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 Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $15.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $11.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GS. Morgan Stanley set a $558.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $690.00 to $660.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. 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 note on Monday, March 24th. Oppenheimer cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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 company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,997,598.72. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,904 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,598.72. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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.