Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Has $166.53 Million Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 31.1% by acquiring an additional 72,286 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately $166.5 million.
• Goldman Sachs recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, resulting in a 2.2% dividend yield for investors.
• Recent upgrades from analysts include Wells Fargo raising its price target from $650.00 to $785.00 and Zacks Research upgrading the stock to a strong-buy rating.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 31.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 304,839 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 72,286 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.10% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $166,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% in the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% in the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares in the company, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $749.87. 1,534,747 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,726,042. The company has a market cap of $227.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $712.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $622.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $753.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released 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 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 Goldman Sachs Group's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.62 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $4.00 dividend. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. HSBC reiterated 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $660.00.

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.