Continental Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Continental Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 31.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,293 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for about 0.9% of Continental Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Continental Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,012,564 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,319,470,000 after acquiring an additional 338,181 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,516,093 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,127,944,000 after buying an additional 150,532 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,953,461 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,910,897,000 after acquiring an additional 274,989 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,895,928 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,044,980,000 after purchasing an additional 141,538 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at $1,903,374,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $360.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,450 shares in the company, valued at $6,287,748. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total transaction of $1,770,965.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,119,949.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,287,748. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 1.1 %

The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $498.43 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $491.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $455.19. 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 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.36 and a 52-week high of $517.26. The firm has a market cap of $160.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.52 by $0.10. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.60 billion. Equities analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.5 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.86%.

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.