The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Acquired by Optas LLC

Optas LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 6.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,137 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 65 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.8% in the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,727 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.3% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,866 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% in the first quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,838 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.1% in the first quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of GS traded up $11.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $509.42. 1,751,832 shares of the company 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 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.36 and a 1-year high of $517.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $480.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $440.15. The company has a market cap of $164.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 36.74 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. 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. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.86%.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,981,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,299,679.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total value of $5,050,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,287,748. The transaction 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 stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 12,981,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,299,679.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,013,500 shares of company stock valued at $32,181,365 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $490.00 to $535.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of 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. Barclays boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $493.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.94.

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.