The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Major Shareholder Sells $25,720,000.00 in Stock

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS – Get Rating) major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.43, for a total value of $25,720,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,099,784 shares in the company, valued at $109,951,611.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 6th, Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 3,749 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.58, for a total value of $39,664.42.
• On Monday, January 23rd, Goldman Sachs Group Inc bought 1,481 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.51 per share, for a total transaction of $12,603.31.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 3.7 %

NYSE:GS opened at $303.54 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $277.84 and a 12-month high of $389.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $355.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $346.35.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 17th. The investment management company reported $3.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $10.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.81 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 33.14 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.50 per share. This represents a $10.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 33.27%.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter valued at $66,000. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,505.1% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 41,300 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $13,633,000 after buying an additional 38,727 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 118,609 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $39,153,000 after buying an additional 18,540 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 79.4% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 827 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 118.3% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 310 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GS shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $443.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. StockNews.com started coverage on The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $356.00 to $332.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $385.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $399.24.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

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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.