Virtu Financial LLC Lowers Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Virtu Financial LLC reduced its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 89.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,708 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 14,953 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 64.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,821 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $313,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 536,968 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $242,881,000 after purchasing an additional 7,802 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

GS stock opened at $585.41 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $365.00 and a twelve month high of $612.73. The firm has a market cap of $183.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $561.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $508.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $1.51. The company had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.47 EPS. Analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.06 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on GS. Citigroup boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. HSBC downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $569.00 to $608.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $614.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $559.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $594.51, for a total transaction of $1,768,072.74. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,046,795.39. This trade represents a 25.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total transaction of $1,061,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,359,435.50. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,940 shares of company stock worth $13,717,979 in the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.