Covington Capital Management Boosts Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Covington Capital Management increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS – Get Rating) by 33.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 795 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 201 shares during the quarter. Covington Capital Management’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $233,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 727.3% during the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 91 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Paragon Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GS shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $441.00 to $463.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $385.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $410.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $399.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 3,749 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.58, for a total transaction of $39,664.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $322.15 on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $277.84 and a 1 year high of $389.58. The firm has a market cap of $108.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $357.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $347.03.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 17th. The investment management company reported $3.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.25 by ($1.93). The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 10.55%. The company had revenue of $10.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 33.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 1st. This represents a $10.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is presently 33.27%.

The Goldman Sachs Group Profile

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The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc engages in global investment banking, securities, and investment management, which provides financial services. It operates through the following business segments: Investment Banking, Global Markets, Asset Management, and Consumer & Wealth Management. The Investment Banking segment serves public and private sector clients around the world and provides financial advisory services, helping companies raise capital to strengthen and grow their businesses and provide financing to corporate clients.