The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Sold by Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd

Key Points

• Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 78.8%, now holding only 500 shares worth $273,000 after selling 1,860 shares in the first quarter.
• The Goldman Sachs Group has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $4.00 per share, signifying a rise from the previous dividend of $3.00, with a yield of 2.2% scheduled for payment on September 29th.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings report showed $10.91 earnings per share, surpassing analyst expectations, and a revenue increase of 14.5% year-over-year, amounting to $14.58 billion.

Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd lessened its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 78.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 500 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 1,860 shares during the quarter. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GS. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and set a $627.00 price objective (up previously from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JMP Securities restated 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on 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. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $715.00 target price on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $660.00.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total transaction of $4,706,944.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total value of $5,406,197.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders 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 Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE GS traded up $2.95 during trading on Thursday, reaching $747.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,371,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,919,637. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $439.38 and a fifty-two week high of $748.91. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $692.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $617.21. The company has a market cap of $226.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.38.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $4.00 per share. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.44%.

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.