Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Sells 425 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lowered its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 25.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,247 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 425 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,055 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $4,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $777,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,514 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $7,142,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the treasurer now owns 18,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,190,901.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total transaction of $5,001,372.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,602,947.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 18,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,190,901.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,330 shares of company stock valued at $11,713,578 in the last 90 days. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised The Goldman Sachs Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $449.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $450.00 to $478.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $450.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $410.00 to $430.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $440.57.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock opened at $446.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $406.72 and its 200-day moving average is $377.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.36 and a 1 year high of $448.02.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.54 by $3.04. The company had revenue of $14.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.94 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 8.65%. The business’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.79 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 36.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $2.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.95%.

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.