Vista Investment Partners II LLC Takes Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 621 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 30,068.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,500,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,713,325,000 after purchasing an additional 7,475,140 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $624,844,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 14,007.0% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,059,716 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $606,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052,204 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 21.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,898,637 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,435,144,000 after acquiring an additional 521,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,400.8% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 419,095 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $239,982,000 after acquiring an additional 391,170 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, insider Kathryn H. Ruemmler sold 7,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,086,042.41. This trade represents a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin R. Johnson bought 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $619.02 per share, with a total value of $1,485,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,485,648. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,630,683 over the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $569.00 to $608.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $690.00 to $660.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.69.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE GS opened at $559.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $381.42 and a 52 week high of $672.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $616.96 and a 200-day moving average of $566.25.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 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 business had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

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.