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

Essex LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,625 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 5,077 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for about 2.3% of Essex LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Essex LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $11,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GS. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,800.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 38 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 46.9% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 72 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 45.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 54 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $843.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $752.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $762.00 to $805.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $785.00 to $855.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $746.69.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 2.0%

The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $771.44 on Wednesday. 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 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.38 and a 12 month high of $825.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $763.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $666.12. The firm has a market cap of $233.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.42.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The investment management company reported $12.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.27 by $1.98. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The firm had revenue of $11.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

Insider Activity

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the company’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 value of $4,310,079.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group 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.