First County Bank CT Decreases Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

First County Bank CT lessened its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 9.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 468 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 51 shares during the quarter. First County Bank CT’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $286,418,000 after purchasing an additional 116,535 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at $321,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 161.8% during the first quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 14,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,643,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GS opened at $802.91 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $243.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $747.32 and its 200 day moving average is $648.04. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $825.25. 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 (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The firm 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 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.62 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $4.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $627.00 price objective (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $665.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total value of $5,406,197.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,469,493.60. The trade was a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.