The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 47.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 360,250 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 327,981 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $138,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Albert D Mason Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 662 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,435 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 414 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invst LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Invst LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,703,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

NYSE:GS opened at $463.68 on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.36 and a twelve month high of $471.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $422.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $388.77.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.54 by $3.04. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 8.86%. The firm had revenue of $14.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 36.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a $2.75 dividend. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 42.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on GS shares. Edward Jones started coverage on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $465.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $349.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $440.57.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.25, for a total value of $2,161,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 623,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,475,456.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.25, for a total transaction of $2,161,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 623,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,475,456.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total transaction of $5,001,372.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,602,947.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

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.