Rafferty Asset Management LLC Acquires 3,697 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 110,757 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,697 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $63,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at $1,603,315,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at $944,334,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at $624,844,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 14,007.0% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,059,716 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $606,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,204 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 214.1% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,294,084 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $741,018,000 after purchasing an additional 882,099 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Director John B. Hess purchased 3,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $511.68 per share, with a total value of $1,997,598.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,904 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,598.72. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $558.00 price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Daiwa America downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $660.00 to $594.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $593.40.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of GS traded up $3.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $618.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,018,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,385,126. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $541.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $579.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.32. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $437.37 and a 1-year high of $672.19.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. During the same period last year, the business posted $11.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

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

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.