Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Acquires 52 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,725 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,155,336 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,524,669,000 after purchasing an additional 112,696 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 21.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,898,637 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,435,144,000 after purchasing an additional 521,054 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,936,853 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,109,081,000 after buying an additional 22,794 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,707,632 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $845,466,000 after buying an additional 18,541 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,660,088 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $898,428,000 after buying an additional 62,246 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of the firm’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 value of $3,313,590.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,255,506.25. This trade represents a 59.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin R. Johnson purchased 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $619.02 per share, for a total transaction of $1,485,648.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,485,648. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $581.12 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $387.12 and a 12-month high of $672.19. The company has a market capitalization of $181.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $611.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $569.86.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.48 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on GS shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $782.00 to $659.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. HSBC lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $569.00 to $608.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $585.00 to $550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $591.93.

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.