The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Sold by Baker Avenue Asset Management LP

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management LP reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6.0%, owning 10,930 shares valued at approximately $5.97 million after selling 700 shares in the first quarter.
• The Goldman Sachs Group recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $3.00 to $4.00, reflecting a yield of 2.2% based on an annualized basis, payable on September 29th.
• The company's latest earnings show a notable increase, reporting an EPS of $10.91, surpassing estimates by $1.09 and achieving revenues of $14.58 billion, up 14.5% year-over-year.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP reduced its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,930 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $5,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. King Wealth Management Group grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.8% in the first quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,086 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.3% in the first 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 in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.6% in the first quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 777 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.9% in the first quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 2,330 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% during the first quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group 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 sale, the chief financial officer 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GS traded down $14.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $709.40. 2,997,787 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,015,611. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $437.37 and a fifty-two week high of $737.88. 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 firm has a market cap of $217.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $669.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $610.89.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share 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 net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The Goldman Sachs Group's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.62 EPS. As a group, 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $4.00 dividend. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is 26.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 target price on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

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.