Highland Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,666 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,380 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group comprises 1.3% of Highland Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $23,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,040,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,349 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,515,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter worth $200,000. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at $252,000. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at $356,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded up $6.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $643.62. The company had a trading volume of 1,214,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,659,677. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $594.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $539.40. The company has a market capitalization of $202.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.38. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $375.20 and a 1 year high of $649.52.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The firm had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 46.81 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is 29.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $591.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $594.51, for a total value of $1,768,072.74. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,046,795.39. This represents a 25.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.74, for a total transaction of $2,317,733.60. Following the sale, the treasurer now owns 4,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,898,440.48. This trade represents a 44.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,657 shares of company stock worth $21,973,272. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.