The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Position Lifted by L & S Advisors Inc

L & S Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 29.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,207 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,095 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up about 1.8% of L & S Advisors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $19,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,014,431 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $25,503,685,000 after buying an additional 418,820 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,661,422 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $5,304,824,000 after buying an additional 121,676 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,913,172 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,319,905,000 after buying an additional 97,387 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,110,119 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,680,393,000 after buying an additional 28,642 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 110.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,780,620 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,417,997,000 after buying an additional 936,015 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $949.89 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $878.61 and a 200-day moving average of $878.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $280.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.28. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $582.50 and a 1-year high of $984.70.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The investment management company reported $17.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $15.92 by $1.63. The company had revenue of $17.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.66 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 14.13%.The company’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $14.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 59.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $4.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $18.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Alex S. Golten sold 1,116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $936.18, for a total transaction of $1,044,776.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,413,472.04. This trade represents a 30.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 10,301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $929.17, for a total value of $9,571,380.17. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,889,079.46. This represents a 61.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 26,824 shares of company stock worth $25,062,242 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting The Goldman Sachs Group

Here are the key news stories impacting The Goldman Sachs Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs lowered its 12-month U.S. recession probability to 25% from 30%, citing a resilient labor market and solid economic activity. That suggests a healthier macro backdrop for banks and markets overall. Goldman Slashes Recession Risk Odds as Labor Market Remains Resilient
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs analysts remained active across several names, including Buy ratings on Telefonica, MercadoLibre, Insulet, Marathon Petroleum, UnitedHealth and ORIC Pharma, showing the firm continues to influence market sentiment but without direct impact on GS itself.
• Neutral Sentiment: There were also multiple media references to Goldman strategists warning that the recent market rally and volatility setup could imply more upside, but those commentary pieces were market-wide in nature and not specific to Goldman Sachs stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Financial stocks were weaker in afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index down about 0.5%, which likely pressured Goldman Sachs shares along with the broader sector. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Lower in Afternoon Trading

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GS shares. Evercore cut their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,075.00 to $950.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,125.00 to $1,049.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. HSBC increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $729.00 to $765.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $970.00 to $940.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $942.24.

The Goldman Sachs Group Profile

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a global investment banking and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1869 as a commercial paper business, the company has grown into a diversified financial institution that provides a broad range of services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. The firm is led by Chief Executive Officer David M. Solomon and operates across major financial centers worldwide.

Goldman Sachs’ core businesses include investment banking, global markets, asset and wealth management, and consumer banking.