Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 183 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,165 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 183 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $17,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $93,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 486 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 896 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock opened at $655.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $600.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $546.46. 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 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $375.20 and a 12-month high of $663.87.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly 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 Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The company had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.48 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue 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 year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 29.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GS shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.06.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $610.91, for a total value of $4,001,460.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 117,883 shares in the company, valued at $72,015,903.53. This trade represents a 5.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,475 shares of company stock worth $19,692,543 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.