The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Sold by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.6%, selling 1,581 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with 13,320 shares valued at $7,277,000.
• The Goldman Sachs Group's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $10.91, exceeding the estimate of $9.82, with quarterly revenue increasing by 14.5% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $4.00 per share, yielding 2.2%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 29th.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S reduced its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,320 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 1,581 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $7,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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 The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. 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 report on Thursday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 3.6%

NYSE:GS traded up $25.8940 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $741.8440. 1,948,403 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,756,604. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.38 and a twelve month high of $749.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $705.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $620.70. The company has a market capitalization of $224.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.38. 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 (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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.62 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict 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 declared 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 is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $13,469,493.60. This trade represents a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,079 shares of company stock valued at $14,423,221. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.