Howard Capital Management Inc. Purchases 108 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,242 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 108 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 163 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 486 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 660 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 1,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $624.67, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathryn H. Ruemmler sold 7,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $634.69, for a total transaction of $4,758,905.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,086,042.41. The trade was a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,475 shares of company stock worth $19,692,543. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 2.6 %

The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $625.70 on Monday. 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 simple moving average is $611.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $558.92. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $381.42 and a 12 month high of $672.19. The company has a market capitalization of $195.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.39.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GS. Barclays raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Hsbc Global Res downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $686.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $593.56.

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.