Essex Financial Services Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,670 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $3,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% in the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total transaction of $4,706,944.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on GS. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Zacks Research downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $665.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock opened at $793.50 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $240.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $743.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $642.72. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.38 and a 12-month high of $825.25.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion during 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.62 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 $4.00 dividend. 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 currently 35.26%.

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.