The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Sold by Mechanics Bank Trust Department

Mechanics Bank Trust Department decreased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,926 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 224 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $2,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GS. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 63 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,046,795.39. This trade represents a 25.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total value of $3,826,245.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,358,685.04. This trade represents a 10.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,940 shares of company stock valued at $12,656,179 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GS shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. HSBC downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $569.00 to $608.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $589.19.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS stock opened at $626.84 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $587.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $530.29. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $372.07 and a 12-month high of $627.00. The company has a market cap of $196.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.38. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.48 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.24 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.21%.

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.