The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Sold by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates lowered its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 13.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 529,166 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 82,859 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.16% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $221,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 106.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 66 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 82.0% in the third quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 91 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 88.0% during the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 94 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GS shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Edward Jones assumed coverage on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. HSBC raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $382.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $434.93.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock traded up $7.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $427.57. 2,322,674 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,404,007. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $400.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $370.11. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.36 and a 52-week high of $428.53. The company has a market cap of $138.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.70, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.43.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.54 by $3.04. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 8.17%. The business had revenue of $14.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.75 per share. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.95%.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total value of $4,550,956.00. Following the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 18,408 shares in the company, valued at $7,190,901.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total transaction of $5,001,372.40. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total value of $4,550,956.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 18,408 shares in the company, valued at $7,190,901.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.