Gradient Investments LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Gradient Investments LLC reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.8% during the second quarter, owning 77,204 shares following the sale of 6,503 shares.
• The Goldman Sachs Group reported $10.91 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $9.82, with quarterly revenue of $14.58 billion, up 14.5% year-over-year.
• The firm also announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00, resulting in an annualized dividend of $16.00 and a yield of 2.0%.

Gradient Investments LLC cut its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 7.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,204 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 6,503 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for 1.0% of Gradient Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $54,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% in the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% in the first quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

NYSE GS opened at $780.87 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $728.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $631.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $439.38 and a fifty-two week high of $793.17.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $4.00 dividend. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on GS. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Zacks Research raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total value of $6,934,016.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 115,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at $86,463,679.48. This represents a 7.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total value of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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.

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