Highland Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,365 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 2,873 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up 1.4% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $26,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 46.9% in 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 period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total transaction of $4,310,079.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total value of $5,406,197.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at $13,469,493.60. The trade was a 28.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock opened at $790.32 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $755.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $655.73. 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 quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.42.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $4.00 dividend. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is 35.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $750.00 to $843.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $752.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $717.00.

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.