Howe & Rusling Inc. Has $11.63 Million Stock Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Howe & Rusling Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,308 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 640 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group comprises about 1.0% of Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $11,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GS. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 224,148 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $129,144,000 after buying an additional 5,541 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,743 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,309,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 38,304 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $21,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,863 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $356,000. Finally, Park Edge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $703,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total transaction of $1,275,338.34. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,047,349.55. The trade was a 23.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kevin R. Johnson purchased 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $619.02 per share, with a total value of $1,485,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,485,648. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683 over the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS opened at $573.37 on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $387.12 and a one year high of $672.19. The company has a market cap of $178.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $610.88 and a 200-day moving average of $570.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The firm had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 29.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on GS. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $690.00 to $660.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $585.00 to $550.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $593.27.

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.