Cozad Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 24.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,826 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 4,042 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group comprises about 1.1% of Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $11,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth about $583,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 3,817 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,186,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 143.5% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 174,815 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $100,103,000 after purchasing an additional 103,030 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total transaction of $4,310,079.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,176,283.79. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total value of $4,706,944.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,079 shares of company stock valued at $14,423,221 over the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

NYSE GS opened at $723.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $222.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business’s fifty day moving average is $659.83 and its 200 day moving average is $607.08. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $437.37 and a fifty-two week high of $732.52.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The business had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $4.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $660.00.

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.