New England Research & Management Inc. Has $4.81 Million Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• New England Research & Management Inc. reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.3%, now holding 6,794 shares valued at approximately $4.81 million, which constitutes 2.3% of its total holdings.
• Goldman Sachs recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, resulting in a 2.0% yield based on an annualized payout.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Goldman Sachs, with price targets ranging from $600 to $785, but overall, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $660.

New England Research & Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,794 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 1,229 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group comprises 2.3% of New England Research & Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. New England Research & Management Inc.'s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $4,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% in the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% in the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total value of $4,706,944.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total value of $6,934,016.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 115,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $86,463,679.48. This represents a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828 in the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:GS traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $804.45. 3,788,014 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,604,564. 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 company has a market cap of $243.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.41. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $439.38 and a one year high of $809.66. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $738.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $638.00.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The business had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $4.00 dividend. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is 35.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Zacks Research lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $665.00.

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.