CENTRAL TRUST Co Increases Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,933 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $2,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GS. SkyOak Wealth LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 10,039 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $5,758,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 10,735 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $6,147,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 57.6% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 1,604 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $918,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

NYSE GS traded up $2.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $634.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,743,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,593,334. The company's 50-day moving average is $596.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $542.74. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $375.20 and a 1-year high of $650.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The business had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.1 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business 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 $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. HSBC downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $569.00 to $608.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $591.06.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,614 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,358,685.04. This trade represents a 10.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $594.51, for a total value of $1,768,072.74. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,489 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,046,795.39. This trade represents a 25.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,865 shares of company stock valued at $25,286,862. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

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.