David M. Solomon Sells 6,608 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Stock

Key Points

• David M. Solomon, CEO of The Goldman Sachs Group, sold 6,608 shares of the company stock for approximately $4.7 million, reducing his ownership by 4.98% to 126,176 shares.
• The Goldman Sachs Group reported $10.91 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $9.82 and showing a 14.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $4.00 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $3.00, which results in an annualized yield of 2.20%.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total value of $4,706,944.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at $89,876,426.56. This represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded up $8.32 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $731.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,135,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,085,554. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $437.37 and a 12-month high of $734.13. The company has a market capitalization of $224.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $662.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $607.95.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 12.37%. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $4.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.4% during the second quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 429 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.8% during the second quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 294 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Stockton raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 2,485 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GS shares. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $627.00 target price (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

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.