The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Stock Holdings Increased by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,540 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Cambridge Trust Co. raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 82.0% during the third quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 91 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 88.0% during the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 94 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 527.3% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 138 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

GS opened at $426.54 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $138.43 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $402.81 and a 200-day moving average of $372.96. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.36 and a 52-week high of $433.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.12.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.54 by $3.04. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 8.17%. The firm had revenue of $14.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.86 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 Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 42.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $424.00 to $433.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $450.00 to $478.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Argus upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $465.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.04.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total transaction of $4,550,956.00. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 18,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,190,901.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total value of $5,001,372.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,602,947.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total value of $4,550,956.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 18,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,190,901.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,330 shares of company stock worth $11,713,578 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company 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.