Baird Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. has increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.8%, acquiring an additional 1,991 shares, bringing its total holdings to 112,862 shares valued at approximately $61.7 million.
• The Goldman Sachs Group reported strong quarterly earnings of $10.91 EPS, exceeding analysts' estimates, and achieved a revenue of $14.58 billion, marking a 14.5% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00, which will be paid to shareholders on September 29, representing a yield of 2.1% and an annualized payment of $16.00.

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,862 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,991 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $61,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GS. King Wealth Management Group increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.8% during the first quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,086 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,877 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $3,211,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 777 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 2,330 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded down $15.32 on Tuesday, hitting $729.93. The stock had a trading volume of 2,296,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,500,379. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $720.29 and a 200 day moving average of $625.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.41. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.38 and a twelve month high of $753.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

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

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Zacks Research raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $660.00.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total value of $5,406,197.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares of the company's stock, 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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total value of $4,706,944.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. The trade was a 4.98% 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. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company 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.