The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Sold by Lazari Capital Management Inc.

Lazari Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 4.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,199 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 52 shares during the period. Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GS. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC increased 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 buying an additional 17 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS opened at $802.91 on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $439.38 and a one year high of $825.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $747.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $648.04. The stock has a market cap of $243.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.41. 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 Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is 35.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on GS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. 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 issued a $627.00 price objective (up previously from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $665.00.

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 dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total value of $4,706,944.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total transaction of $6,934,016.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 115,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,463,679.48. The trade was a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.