BDF Gestion Lowers Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• BDF Gestion has reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. by 30.5% during the 2nd quarter, now holding 15,100 shares valued at approximately $10.69 million.
• The Goldman Sachs Group recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $4.00 per share, enhancing its annualized yield to 2.0%.
• In recent insider transactions, CFO Denis P. Coleman and COO John E. Waldron both sold significant shares, reflecting a decrease in their positions by 28.64% and 7.42%, respectively.

BDF Gestion reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 30.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,100 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 6,636 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group comprises 1.2% of BDF Gestion's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. BDF Gestion's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $10,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $583,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 6,513 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $3,729,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,795,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GS. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 target price on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on 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 upped their target price on 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. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $665.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

GS stock traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $805.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,135,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,438,771. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $739.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $640.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.38 and a 1 year high of $825.25. The stock has a market cap of $243.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.41.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.62 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is currently 35.26%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total transaction of $4,310,079.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,176,283.79. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total value of $6,934,016.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 115,268 shares in the company, valued at $86,463,679.48. This represents a 7.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828 over the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.