The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Sold by Columbia Asset Management

Key Points

• Columbia Asset Management drastically reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 99.6%, selling 520,889 shares and now holding just 2,049 shares valued at $1.45 million.
• The Goldman Sachs Group announced a quarterly dividend of $4.00, an increase from its previous dividend of $3.00, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.0%.
• Goldman Sachs reported strong earnings with $10.91 EPS for the quarter, exceeding estimates of $9.82, and a revenue of $14.58 billion compared to forecasts of $13.53 billion.

Columbia Asset Management trimmed its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 99.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,049 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 520,889 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. PBMares Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth $212,000. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc now owns 3,530 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,498,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.4% during the second quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 7,461 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $5,281,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Pennsylvania Capital Management Inc. ADV purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 16.8% during the second quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 26,998 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $19,108,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $796.20 on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.38 and a 1 year high of $825.25. The firm has a market cap of $241.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55, a PEG ratio of 1.67 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $751.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $650.88.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 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 analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.62 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $4.00 dividend. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $725.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $752.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Zacks Research cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $690.27.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $13,469,493.60. The trade was a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.51, for a total value of $6,754,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 106,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $79,755,196.68. This represents a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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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