American Trust Has $242,000 Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

American Trust cut its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 17.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 580 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 124 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GS. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 106.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 66 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of GS stock traded down $29.48 on Friday, reaching $470.64. 6,115,462 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,606,533. The stock has a market cap of $151.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $289.36 and a one year high of $517.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $469.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $428.76.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is presently 46.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GS shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $490.00 to $535.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $493.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.94.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total value of $1,770,965.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $6,119,949.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total value of $25,360,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,981,022 shares in the company, valued at $82,299,679.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total value of $1,770,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,119,949.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,013,500 shares of company stock worth $32,181,365 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.