Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Boosts Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. by 9.0%, owning approximately $102.68 million worth of shares after purchasing additional shares in the first quarter.
• CEO David M. Solomon and EVP John F.W. Rogers each sold shares of Goldman Sachs stock, with the CEO's sale representing a 4.98% reduction in his ownership.
• The Goldman Sachs Group reported earnings of $10.91 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and reflecting a 14.5% increase in year-over-year revenue.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 9.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 187,951 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,566 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $102,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 63,864.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,976,684 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,172,423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,970,467 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,766,238,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $944,334,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $897,185,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 214.1% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,294,084 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $741,018,000 after purchasing an additional 882,099 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity 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 dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were 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 $13,469,493.60. The trade was a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221 over the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of GS stock traded down $9.45 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $721.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,550,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,544,504. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $697.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $618.14. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $439.38 and a one year high of $749.05.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The business had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.62 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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 announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GS. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $627.00 target price (up previously from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group 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.