The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Sold by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,204 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 6,503 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group comprises 1.0% of Gradient Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $54,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 524,296 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $286,418,000 after acquiring an additional 116,535 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth about $321,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 161.8% in the 1st quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 41.5% in the 1st quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 49,800 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $27,205,000 after purchasing an additional 14,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,643,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at $47,176,283.79. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at $89,876,426.56. This represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price target on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:GS opened at $780.87 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $728.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $631.75. The company has a market capitalization of $236.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.38 and a 52-week high of $793.17.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.62 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $4.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.26%.

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.