Capital Wealth Planning LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Capital Wealth Planning LLC lessened its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,112,060 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 81,341 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up 5.3% of Capital Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Capital Wealth Planning LLC owned about 0.34% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $503,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GS. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 106.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 66 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $478.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $154.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $490.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $451.61. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.36 and a fifty-two week high of $517.26.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.52 by $0.10. The business 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, equities analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.5 EPS 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 paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on GS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $493.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $490.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $513.00 to $561.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.44.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total value of $5,050,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,450 shares in the company, valued at $6,287,748. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total value of $1,770,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $6,119,949.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total value of $5,050,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,287,748. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.54% 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.