Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC Sells 147 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,602 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 147 shares during the quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GS. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew 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 during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% during the first quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE GS opened at $715.3670 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $702.98 and its 200 day moving average is $620.13. 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 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.38 and a 12 month high of $749.05. The stock has a market cap of $216.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.38.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released 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 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 the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $4.00 per share. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total transaction of $4,310,079.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,176,283.79. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,079 shares of company stock valued at $14,423,221 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group presently 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.