First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 6.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,029 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 575 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $4,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,989,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,815,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,797 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,184 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,396,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $613.29 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $556.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $582.80. The company has a market cap of $188.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.32. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $437.37 and a 12-month high of $672.19.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.57 by $1.55. The business 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $11.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $690.00 to $660.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $560.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $558.00 price target on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $593.40.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Director John B. Hess acquired 3,904 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,997,598.72. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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.