The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Sold by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. cut its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 12.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 276,656 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 40,739 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $125,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 106.3% in 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. increased its position in shares of 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of GS stock opened at $498.28 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.36 and a 1-year high of $517.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $491.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $454.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.52 by $0.10. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.60 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GS shares. Wolfe Research upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 report on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $464.00 to $472.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $496.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total transaction of $5,050,400.00. Following the completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total transaction of $1,770,965.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $6,119,949.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction 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 approximately $6,287,748. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company 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.