Ariel Investments LLC Cuts Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Ariel Investments LLC significantly reduced its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 92.3%, ending the first quarter with only 9,005 shares after selling 108,472 shares during the period.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for Goldman Sachs, with a consensus price target of $660.00, while some firms have recently boosted their target prices significantly.
• Goldman Sachs announced a quarterly dividend of $4.00 per share, which is an increase from the previous $3.00, representing an annualized yield of 2.2%.

Ariel Investments LLC decreased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 92.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,005 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 108,472 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $4,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% in the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% in the first quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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 report on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $660.00.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.51, for a total value of $6,754,590.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 106,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $79,755,196.68. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total transaction of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of GS stock opened at $729.93 on Wednesday. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $720.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $625.14. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.38 and a 12 month high of $753.33. The company has a market capitalization of $220.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.41.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.62 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 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 Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

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.

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