Ramirez Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Ramirez Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 10.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 425 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GS. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth $25,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,800.0% during the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 38 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 46.9% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 72 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 45.9% during the second 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 last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GS. UBS Group lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $762.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $785.00 to $855.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $752.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $727.31.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $779.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $759.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $661.09. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $825.25. 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 (NYSE:GS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.62 earnings per share. Equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $4.00 dividend. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. 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 35.26%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total value of $4,310,079.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at $47,176,283.79. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.