The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 1.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,068 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GS. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 62.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,301 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,632,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at $1,388,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 34.2% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 8,256 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,448,000 after buying an additional 2,103 shares during the period. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth $5,416,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,013 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $5,018,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $478.99 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $289.36 and a 1 year high of $517.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $490.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $450.78. The firm has a market cap of $154.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.52 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.73 billion for 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 anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $360.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $464.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now directly owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,287,748. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total transaction of $1,770,965.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,119,949.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% 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.