Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Sells 2,179 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. cut its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 21.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,878 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 2,179 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up about 1.1% of Banco BTG Pactual S.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Banco BTG Pactual S.A.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $4,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GS. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% in the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

NYSE GS opened at $721.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $218.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $699.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $618.86. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.38 and a 1 year high of $749.05.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The business had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is 35.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on GS shares. Zacks Research upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $627.00 price target (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $660.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total transaction of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,176,283.79. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total transaction of $5,406,197.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,079 shares of company stock valued at $14,423,221. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.