Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 13,349 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 172,385 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 13,349 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $98,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 2.8 %

GS opened at $543.04 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $608.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $571.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $387.12 and a 12 month high of $672.19. 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 results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $720.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $782.00 to $659.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Oppenheimer cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup decreased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $585.00 to $550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $590.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 1,545 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $624.67, for a total transaction of $965,115.15. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 8,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,117,296.64. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total value of $1,275,338.34. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,047,349.55. This represents a 23.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,630,683 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.