Congress Asset Management Co. Has $185.96 Million Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management Co. has reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0%, holding approximately $185.96 million worth of shares, which constitutes about 1.3% of its investment portfolio.
• Recent analyst upgrades have raised price targets for Goldman Sachs, with Citigroup increasing its target from $550.00 to $700.00, while Evercore ISI set a target of $715.00 with an "outperform" rating.
• The Goldman Sachs Group has increased its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00, representing a 2.0% dividend yield and is scheduled for payment on September 29th.

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 262,742 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 2,620 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group comprises about 1.3% of Congress Asset Management Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.09% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $185,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 151.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 3,562 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,521,000 after purchasing an additional 2,147 shares during the period. Morangie Management LLC boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter. Morangie Management LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $5,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,670 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $3,305,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 16,310 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $11,543,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 4,156 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,941,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GS. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 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. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and set 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $665.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.51, for a total value of $6,754,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 106,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $79,755,196.68. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at $13,469,493.60. This trade represents a 28.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828 in the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.3%

GS stock opened at $794.75 on Friday. 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 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.38 and a 1 year high of $825.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $745.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $644.54. The firm has a market cap of $240.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.41.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The business had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.62 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 35.26%.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company 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.

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