Montecito Bank & Trust Trims Stock Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Montecito Bank & Trust cut its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,309 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 34 shares during the quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% in 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, West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the third quarter worth about $30,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 13.1 %

NYSE:GS opened at $595.98 on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $319.66 and a 1 year high of $598.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $504.77 and a 200-day moving average of $480.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $188.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.35.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 11.05% and a net margin of 9.89%. The company had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.14 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 10,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,359,435.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GS. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $360.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $565.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $472.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $527.63.

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.