Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 28.4%, holding approximately 1.5 million shares valued at around $816.9 million.
• Wall Street analysts have raised key price targets for Goldman Sachs, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increasing their target from $771 to $790 and Morgan Stanley lifting their target from $680 to $715.
• The Goldman Sachs Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $4.00 per share, up from the previous $3.00, with a yield of 2.2% for shareholders of record on August 29th.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 28.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,495,286 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 592,308 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.49% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $816,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,038,057 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $594,412,000 after buying an additional 138,198 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth $321,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 161.8% in the 1st quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 41.5% during the first quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 49,800 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $27,205,000 after purchasing an additional 14,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth $1,643,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and set a $627.00 price target (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $660.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total transaction of $5,406,197.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at $13,469,493.60. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total value of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of GS opened at $729.93 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $720.29 and its 200-day moving average is $625.14. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $439.38 and a fifty-two week high of $753.33. The company has a market capitalization of $220.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%.The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $4.00 per share. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.26%.

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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