Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Sells 401 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.5%, selling 401 shares and holding 2,190 shares valued at $1.55 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• The Goldman Sachs Group declared a $4.00 quarterly dividend, increasing the annualized dividend to $16.00 with a yield of 2.0%.
• In the second quarter, several institutional investors, including Empirical Wealth Management and Sterling Investment Counsel, adjusted their holdings, further emphasizing significant investor interest in the company with institutional ownership at 71.21%.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 15.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,190 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 401 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 40.1% in the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,105 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.4% in the second quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 575 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth $281,000. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 5,874 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $4,164,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth $238,000. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $750.51, for a total value of $6,754,590.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 106,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at $79,755,196.68. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total value of $5,406,197.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. The trade was a 28.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $790.32 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $755.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $655.73. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $825.25. The company has a market capitalization of $239.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.42. 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 (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%.The business had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.62 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $4.00 dividend. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $725.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $717.00.

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.

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