The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Position Increased by Busey Bank

Busey Bank increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 36,332 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $20,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth $1,040,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,349 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $200,000. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $252,000. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $356,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

NYSE GS opened at $638.13 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $593.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $538.70. The stock has a market cap of $200.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.38. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $375.20 and a twelve month high of $649.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.48 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 46.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on GS. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $736.00 to $782.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.06.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total transaction of $3,826,245.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,614 shares in the company, valued at $34,358,685.04. This represents a 10.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,046,795.39. The trade was a 25.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,657 shares of company stock valued at $21,973,272 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company 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.