First Pacific Financial Trims Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

First Pacific Financial decreased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 12.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,151 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 292 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth about $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% in the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 46.9% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 72 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 45.9% during the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 54 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $796.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $241.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.41. 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 $825.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $751.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $650.88.

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

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $4.00 dividend. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total value of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,176,283.79. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 115,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,463,679.48. The trade was a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $706.00 to $854.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $627.00 price objective (up previously from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $690.27.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

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.