Empirical Asset Management LLC Buys 2,230 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GSFree Report) by 77.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,121 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,230 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $4,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter valued at about $236,000. Jag Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2,578.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 14,758 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $11,753,000 after buying an additional 14,207 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 9,683 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $7,711,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,069 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,444,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $937,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $970.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $900.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Autonomous Res dropped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,047.00 to $960.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $916.86.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS opened at $902.33 on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.38 and a 1 year high of $984.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $270.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $922.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $834.04.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GSGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $13.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $2.03. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 15.19%. The company had revenue of $15.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $4.50 dividend. This represents a $18.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 13,151 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $959.03, for a total transaction of $12,612,203.53. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,408,883.21. This trade represents a 25.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 11,623 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $941.57, for a total value of $10,943,868.11. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 29,342 shares in the company, valued at $27,627,546.94. This trade represents a 28.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 117,283 shares of company stock valued at $112,016,033 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting The Goldman Sachs Group

Here are the key news stories impacting The Goldman Sachs Group this week:

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a global investment banking and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1869 as a commercial paper business, the company has grown into a diversified financial institution that provides a broad range of services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. The firm is led by Chief Executive Officer David M. Solomon and operates across major financial centers worldwide.

Goldman Sachs’ core businesses include investment banking, global markets, asset and wealth management, and consumer banking.

See Also

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS)

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