Level Four Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,696 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $9,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,155,336 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,524,669,000 after buying an additional 112,696 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,603,315,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.1% in the third 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 valued at $845,466,000 after buying an additional 18,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,660,088 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $898,428,000 after acquiring an additional 62,246 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 1,545 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $624.67, for a total transaction of $965,115.15. Following the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 8,192 shares in the company, valued at $5,117,296.64. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total value of $1,275,338.34. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,047,349.55. This represents a 23.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS opened at $559.47 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $609.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $570.55. 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 stock has a market cap of $174.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $387.12 and a 12 month high of $672.19.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $782.00 to $659.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of 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 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $593.27.

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.