The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Sold by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,207 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,515 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $2,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GS. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,800.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 38 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 46.9% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 72 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 45.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 54 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total value of $6,934,016.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 115,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,463,679.48. This represents a 7.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on GS. Daiwa Capital Markets boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $756.00 to $810.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $850.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $779.50.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $789.87 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $768.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $683.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.38 and a 1-year high of $825.25. The company has a market cap of $239.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.42.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The investment management company reported $12.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.27 by $1.98. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 13.18%.The company had revenue of $11.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.40 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be issued a $4.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.50%.

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.