Northern Financial Advisors Inc Trims Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc decreased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,760 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up 1.7% of Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $2,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GS. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 63 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at $4,047,349.55. This represents a 23.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.74, for a total value of $2,317,733.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 4,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,898,440.48. The trade was a 44.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,475 shares of company stock valued at $19,692,543. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $736.00 to $782.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $686.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.06.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock opened at $649.19 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $602.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $550.12. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $375.77 and a fifty-two week high of $663.87. 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 stock has a market cap of $201.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.39.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The business’s revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.48 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.59%.

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.