Optas LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Optas LLC has reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.2%, now holding 2,724 shares valued at approximately $1.93 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Goldman's stock, with Ridgewood Investments LLC showing a notable increase of 45.9% in the second quarter.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00, equating to an annual yield of 2.1%.

Optas LLC decreased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 15.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,724 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 488 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GS. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 429 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 294 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 45.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 2,485 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 3,597 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GS has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $725.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $652.00 to $677.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $752.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $727.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at $47,176,283.79. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $750.51, for a total transaction of $6,754,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 106,268 shares in the company, valued at $79,755,196.68. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828 over the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $777.49 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.38 and a 12-month high of $825.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $758.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $659.72.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 14.32%. The business had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.62 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $4.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend yield of 2.1%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.26%.

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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