Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 21 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 0.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 42,526 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 21 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for approximately 1.1% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $19,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 106.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on GS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on 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. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.94.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total transaction of $5,050,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,287,748. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,287,748. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $82,299,679.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,013,500 shares of company stock valued at $32,181,365. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS stock traded up $11.67 on Friday, hitting $509.42. 1,751,832 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,301,381. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $289.36 and a one year high of $517.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $480.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $440.53.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.52 by $0.10. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 9.36%. The company had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.60 billion. Sell-side analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. This is a boost 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 (DPR) is currently 46.86%.

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.