Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Reduces Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. lowered its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,697 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group comprises 1.8% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $6,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 697 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $746,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 1,502 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,282,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total value of $25,360,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,981,022 shares in the company, valued at $82,299,679.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total transaction of $5,050,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,287,748. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total value of $25,360,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,981,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,299,679.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,013,500 shares of company stock valued at $32,181,365 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:GS opened at $487.80 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.36 and a twelve month high of $517.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market cap of $157.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $488.78 and a 200-day moving average of $447.10.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.52 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.60 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 9.36%. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GS shares. Seaport Res Ptn cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $513.00 to $561.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.94.

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.