Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Lowers Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. trimmed its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,054 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $559.47 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $387.12 and a 12-month high of $672.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $609.83 and a 200 day moving average of $570.55.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 29.59%.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total transaction of $1,275,338.34. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,047,349.55. The trade was a 23.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kevin R. Johnson purchased 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $619.02 per share, with a total value of $1,485,648.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,485,648. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on GS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $690.00 to $660.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup decreased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $585.00 to $550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $593.27.

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.