The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Sold by Washington Trust Bank

Washington Trust Bank lowered its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,747 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,150 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group comprises 1.6% of Washington Trust Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $16,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,780,338 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,257,602,000 after purchasing an additional 77,700 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,117,311 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $957,684,000 after acquiring an additional 68,141 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,193,401 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $498,472,000 after acquiring an additional 3,396 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 843,646 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $381,598,000 after acquiring an additional 217,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,102.4% during the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 810,836 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $366,780,000 after acquiring an additional 743,402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $614.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $565.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $527.63.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total value of $1,061,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,095 shares in the company, valued at $5,359,435.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS stock traded down $4.74 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $591.24. The company had a trading volume of 152,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,207,668. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $504.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $480.57. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $319.66 and a 52-week high of $598.60. The stock has a market cap of $186.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 11.05% and a net margin of 9.89%. The company had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.21%.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

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.