Gradient Investments LLC Sells 3,328 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Gradient Investments LLC cut its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,068 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 3,328 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $39,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GS. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $360.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $493.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $495.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,981,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,299,679.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total transaction of $25,360,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,981,022 shares in the company, valued at $82,299,679.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total transaction of $1,770,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,119,949.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,013,500 shares of company stock worth $32,181,365 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

NYSE GS traded up $5.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $504.26. 1,587,216 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,331,405. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.36 and a 12-month high of $517.26. The company has a market capitalization of $162.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $475.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $435.74. 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 (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.52 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.60 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 10.26%. As a group, analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 36.74 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. 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 payout ratio is presently 46.86%.

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.