Chase Investment Counsel Corp Reduces Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp reduced its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,411 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 179 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group comprises 2.1% of Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $6,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GS. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on GS. Citigroup raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their price target 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $690.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.69.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, Director Kevin R. Johnson acquired 2,400 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $619.02 per share, for a total transaction of $1,485,648.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,485,648. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 1,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $624.67, for a total value of $965,115.15. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 8,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,117,296.64. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $622.11 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $381.42 and a twelve month high of $672.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.39. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $616.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $562.46.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 29.59%.

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.