The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Stock Position Raised by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 26.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,046 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $4,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 163 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 486 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 660 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,024,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock traded down $4.17 on Wednesday, hitting $668.02. 1,953,470 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,498,786. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $380.85 and a 1-year high of $672.19. The stock has a market cap of $207.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $609.75 and a 200-day moving average of $555.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The business had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.48 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GS has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $720.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $686.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $593.56.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $610.91, for a total value of $4,001,460.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 117,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,015,903.53. This represents a 5.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.25, for a total transaction of $3,313,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,255,506.25. This trade represents a 59.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,475 shares of company stock valued at $19,692,543 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company 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.