Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Takes $4.70 Million Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired 8,610 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, valued at approximately $4.7 million, during the 1st quarter.
• Goldman Sachs recently declared a quarterly dividend of $4.00 per share, which represents a 2.21% yield and an increase from the previous dividend of $3.00.
• The company reported $10.91 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $14.58 billion, up 14.5% year-over-year.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,610 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $4,703,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.4% in 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 period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth $321,000. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 41.5% in the 1st quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 49,800 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $27,205,000 after buying an additional 14,600 shares during the period. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth $1,643,000. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 3,271 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,787,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. The trade was a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221 over the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded down $14.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $709.13. The stock had a trading volume of 2,395,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,621,536. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $437.37 and a 52-week high of $737.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market capitalization of $217.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.35. The firm's fifty day moving average is $667.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $609.90.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.62 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $4.00 dividend. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Daiwa America downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Barclays decreased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $627.00 price target (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have assigned 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 price target 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.