Legato Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Legato Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 23.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,978 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 1,231 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $2,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $701.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $647.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $601.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $437.37 and a 52 week high of $726.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.35.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.62 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. 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 2.28%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 target price on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

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.

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