Aurora Investment Counsel Trims Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Aurora Investment Counsel lowered its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,492 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 811 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for 1.2% of Aurora Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $2,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6,300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,119,949.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total transaction of $5,050,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,287,748. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $490.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $493.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $496.44.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

NYSE GS opened at $495.11 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $159.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $492.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $459.74. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.36 and a fifty-two week high of $517.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.52 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.60 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 10.56%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.43 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.86%.

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.