Ritholtz Wealth Management Increases Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,908 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 158 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $2,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at $759,531,000. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,936,351 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,038,425,000 after buying an additional 1,696,350 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 168,772.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244,589 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $427,367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243,852 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at $2,300,710,000. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 27,076.5% in the third quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 653,322 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $211,396,000 after purchasing an additional 650,918 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GS traded up $2.44 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $417.69. The company had a trading volume of 2,388,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,341,799. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.36 and a twelve month high of $419.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $388.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $357.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.42.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The investment management company reported $5.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $1.86. The company had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 8.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 33.13 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be given a $2.75 dividend. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the business’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 value of $4,550,956.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now owns 18,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,190,901.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the business’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 value of $4,550,956.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 29,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,602,947.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,907 shares of company stock valued at $15,080,021 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $390.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $421.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $333.00 to $449.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $506.00 to $446.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $410.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $411.10.

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.