The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Stock Position Decreased by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lessened its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 165,550 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 2,936 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up about 2.5% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned approximately 0.05% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $74,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth about $1,903,374,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,120,119,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,102.4% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 810,836 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $366,780,000 after buying an additional 743,402 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 acquiring an additional 464,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC boosted 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 valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 406,224 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on GS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $461.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $493.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $495.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total transaction of $25,360,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,981,022 shares in the company, valued at $82,299,679.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total transaction of $25,360,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,981,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,299,679.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,287,748. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,013,500 shares of company stock valued at $32,181,365 in the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of GS stock traded down $4.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $503.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,564,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,281,627. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.36 and a 12-month high of $517.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $482.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $442.26. The company has a market cap of $162.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.52 by $0.10. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 9.36%. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.60 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 36.74 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio 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.

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