Virtu Financial LLC Has $1.26 Million Stock Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC reduced its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 59.6%, selling 3,399 shares and ending up with 2,300 shares valued at approximately $1.26 million.
• The Goldman Sachs Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $4.00 per share, up from the previous $3.00, with a dividend yield of 2.2%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for Goldman Sachs with a target price of $660.00, with 1 sell rating, 12 hold ratings, and 5 buy ratings issued.

Virtu Financial LLC lowered its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 59.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,300 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 3,399 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GS. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. now owns 1,574 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.1% during the first quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 1,375 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at $656,000. Johnson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth about $265,000. Finally, Manhattan West Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 8.6% during the first quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC now owns 8,158 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $4,457,000 after buying an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report 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 company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded up $2.95 on Thursday, hitting $747.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,365,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,568,862. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $439.38 and a one year high of $748.91. The firm has a market cap of $226.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.38. 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 fifty day moving average price of $689.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $616.41.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%. The company's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.62 EPS. On average, equities 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders 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 2.1%. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $89,876,426.56. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at $13,469,493.60. The trade was a 28.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group 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.