The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Stake Trimmed by Mechanics Bank Trust Department

Mechanics Bank Trust Department cut its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 7.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,208 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 394 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $2,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 106.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 66 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth $33,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $360.00 to $373.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $513.00 to $561.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.94.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

NYSE GS traded up $4.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $490.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,622,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,355,641. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $471.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $432.45. The stock has a market cap of $158.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.36 and a fifty-two week high of $517.26.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.52 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.60 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 9.36%. Equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 36.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total transaction of $25,360,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,981,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,299,679.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total value of $5,050,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,450 shares in the company, valued at $6,287,748. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total value of $25,360,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,981,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,299,679.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,013,500 shares of company stock valued at $32,181,365 over the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.