Cornerstone Advisors LLC Sells 1,300 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lessened its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 6.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,600 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $7,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth about $1,903,374,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,120,119,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,102.4% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 810,836 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $366,780,000 after purchasing an additional 743,402 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,184,196 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $842,597,000 after purchasing an additional 464,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 26,378.2% during the 1st quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 407,764 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 406,224 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,119,949.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total transaction of $5,050,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,287,748. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $1,770,965.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,119,949.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS stock opened at $478.99 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $490.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $451.61. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $289.36 and a one year high of $517.26. The stock has a market cap of $154.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.52 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.60 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 9.36%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.5 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $464.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $496.44.

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.