The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Sold by Wallington Asset Management LLC

Wallington Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,554 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group comprises 2.9% of Wallington Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Wallington Asset Management LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $19,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Waddell & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 896 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 243 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 3,167 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,568,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Krane Funds Advisors LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

GS opened at $626.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.38. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $372.07 and a 52-week high of $627.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $586.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $528.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.48 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 35.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total transaction of $3,826,245.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,358,685.04. This represents a 10.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $594.51, for a total transaction of $1,768,072.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,046,795.39. The trade was a 25.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,940 shares of company stock worth $12,656,179 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $736.00 to $782.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. HSBC lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $569.00 to $608.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $589.19.

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.