Optimize Financial Inc Sells 48 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Optimize Financial Inc lowered its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 647 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Optimize Financial Inc’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 524,296 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $286,418,000 after purchasing an additional 116,535 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $321,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 161.8% in the 1st quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 41.5% in the 1st quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 49,800 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $27,205,000 after buying an additional 14,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,643,000. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 2.9%

The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $763.67 on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.38 and a 1-year high of $765.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $725.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $628.27.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.62 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $4.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. 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 (DPR) is presently 35.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total value of $6,934,016.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 115,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,463,679.48. The trade was a 7.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total transaction of $5,406,197.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,469,493.60. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828 over the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on GS. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of 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. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $660.00.

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.