Northstar Advisory Group LLC Sells 2,417 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Northstar Advisory Group LLC lowered its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 43.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,105 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 2,417 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for approximately 1.1% of Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $2,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 63,864.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,976,684 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,172,423,000 after buying an additional 3,970,467 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,766,238,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $897,185,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 14,764 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $8,065,000 after acquiring an additional 585,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cohen Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 5,559.2% during the 1st quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 470,220 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $256,876,000 after acquiring an additional 461,911 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $780.87 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $728.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $631.75. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $439.38 and a one year high of $793.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $236.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.41.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) 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 the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $4.00 dividend. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is 35.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total transaction of $4,310,079.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,176,283.79. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 115,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,463,679.48. This trade represents a 7.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GS shares. Zacks Research raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $660.00.

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.