Independent Advisor Alliance Boosts Stock Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 28.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,021 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 1,543 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $4,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $531.59 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $383.41 and a 1 year high of $672.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $615.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $566.64. The firm has a market cap of $165.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The firm had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.48 earnings per share. Equities 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 disclosed 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 yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GS has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $736.00 to $782.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Friday, February 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.69.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total value of $1,275,338.34. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at $4,047,349.55. This trade represents a 23.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.25, for a total transaction of $3,313,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,255,506.25. This trade represents a 59.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.