JT Stratford LLC Boosts Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

JT Stratford LLC increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 16.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,428 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. JT Stratford LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,038,057 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $594,412,000 after purchasing an additional 138,198 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $321,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 161.8% during the 1st quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 41.5% during the 1st quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 49,800 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $27,205,000 after acquiring an additional 14,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,643,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $730.47 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $697.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $618.14. The company has a market capitalization of $221.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38. 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 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $749.05.

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

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 currently 26.44%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total transaction of $5,406,197.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total value of $4,706,944.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 126,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,079 shares of company stock valued at $14,423,221. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GS shares. Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $627.00 price objective (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $660.00.

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.