The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Sold by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,584 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,800.0% in the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 38 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 45.9% in the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 54 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of GS opened at $779.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $439.38 and a fifty-two week high of $825.25. The company has a market cap of $235.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $753.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $653.41.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%.The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $4.00 dividend. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

Insider Activity

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total value of $5,406,197.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total transaction of $4,310,079.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $725.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $627.00 price target (up previously from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $709.13.

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.