Washington Trust Bank Cuts Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Washington Trust Bank decreased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,676 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 3,071 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up about 1.7% of Washington Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $17,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $565.00 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $176.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $387.12 and a 52-week high of $672.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $610.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $568.09.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The business had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.48 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Oppenheimer cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $782.00 to $659.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. HSBC cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $569.00 to $608.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $594.27.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.74, for a total transaction of $2,317,733.60. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 4,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,898,440.48. The trade was a 44.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.25, for a total transaction of $3,313,590.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,255,506.25. This trade represents a 59.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683 over the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.