Westpac Banking Corp Grows Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Westpac Banking Corp increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 27.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,256 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,814 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up approximately 0.8% of Westpac Banking Corp's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $12,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GS. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 224,148 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $129,144,000 after buying an additional 5,541 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 15,506 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $8,879,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,743 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $3,309,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 38,304 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $21,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at $356,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GS traded down $41.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $469.57. 8,098,242 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,325,002. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $387.12 and a one year high of $672.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $597.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $573.37.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.36 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GS shares. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup dropped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $585.00 to $550.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $720.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $589.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 4,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,898,440.48. The trade was a 44.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kevin R. Johnson bought 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $619.02 per share, for a total transaction of $1,485,648.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,485,648. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,630,683. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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.