Rafferty Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth $2,228,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,427,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $4,788,000. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $458,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $573,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $660.00 to $594.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $560.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $585.00 to $550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $690.00 to $660.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $593.40.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GS opened at $612.68 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $537.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $577.73. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $437.37 and a 1-year high of $672.19. The company has a market capitalization of $188.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.57 by $1.55. The company had revenue of $15.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $11.58 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 27.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John B. Hess acquired 3,904 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $511.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,997,598.72. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,997,598.72. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.