Western Financial Corp CA Purchases 548 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Western Financial Corp CA raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,260 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group comprises 1.0% of Western Financial Corp CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Western Financial Corp CA’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GS. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 896 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 243 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 449 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $569.00 to $608.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.06.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GS opened at $640.15 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $596.07 and its 200 day moving average is $541.17. 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 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $375.20 and a 52 week high of $650.00. The stock has a market cap of $198.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.38.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The company had revenue of $13.87 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.48 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.1 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 29.59%.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $594.51, for a total transaction of $1,768,072.74. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,046,795.39. The trade was a 25.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.74, for a total value of $2,317,733.60. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,865 shares of company stock worth $25,286,862 in the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.