Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,811 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for about 1.0% of Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $5,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 163 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 486 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 660 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $951,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Genesee Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin R. Johnson acquired 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $619.02 per share, for a total transaction of $1,485,648.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,485,648. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total transaction of $1,275,338.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,047,349.55. This represents a 23.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GS. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.69.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GS opened at $559.55 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $616.96 and a 200-day moving average of $565.76. The firm has a market cap of $174.60 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 twelve month low of $381.42 and a twelve month high of $672.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

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

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.59%.

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.