Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Sells 25 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC cut its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,443 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $2,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth about $26,000. West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the third quarter worth about $30,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 110.0% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 63 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the third quarter worth about $37,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $612.08, for a total transaction of $3,060,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 608,425 shares in the company, valued at $372,404,774. This trade represents a 0.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin R. Johnson bought 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $619.02 per share, for a total transaction of $1,485,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,485,648. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,940 shares of company stock valued at $12,656,179 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America increased their price target 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $686.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.06.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GS opened at $633.14 on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $374.24 and a twelve month high of $635.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $588.56 and its 200 day moving average is $533.05. 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 company has a market cap of $198.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.38.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.21 by $3.74. The business had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The business’s revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 46.81 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid 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 1.90%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 29.59%.

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.