The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Bought by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group to approximately $89.14 million after acquiring an additional 7,510 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors collectively own 71.21% of The Goldman Sachs Group's stock, with several firms, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Blueshift Asset Management, significantly raising their positions.
• The Goldman Sachs Group announced a quarterly dividend increase from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $16.00 and a yield of 2.2%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 163,144 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,510 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $89,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $627.00 price target (up previously from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total value of $4,706,944.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,876,426.56. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total transaction of $6,934,016.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 115,268 shares in the company, valued at $86,463,679.48. The trade was a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.8%

GS stock traded up $6.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $769.95. 1,996,070 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,578,995. 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 1-year low of $439.38 and a 1-year high of $774.47. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $726.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $629.25. The company has a market cap of $233.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $4.00 dividend. 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. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

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.