The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Acquired by ING Groep NV

Key Points

• ING Groep NV increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, owning 15,484 shares worth approximately $8.46 million after acquiring an additional 1,559 shares during the first quarter.
• The Goldman Sachs Group recently announced a dividend increase to $4.00 per share, reflecting a 33.3% rise from the previous quarter's $3.00.
• Insider activity revealed that CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares for over $5.4 million, representing a significant decrease in his ownership by 28.64%.

ING Groep NV raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,484 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,559 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $8,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth $455,000. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 33.6% in the 1st quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 533 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 13.3% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 127,209 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $69,493,000 after purchasing an additional 14,973 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 158,372 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $86,517,000 after acquiring an additional 2,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 15,228 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $8,319,000 after buying an additional 1,979 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GS. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

GS traded down $4.41 on Thursday, reaching $720.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,399,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,039,580. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.67. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $439.38 and a fifty-two week high of $737.88. The company's fifty day moving average is $679.08 and its 200 day moving average is $613.75. The stock has a market cap of $218.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The business had revenue of $14.58 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.62 EPS. As a group, analysts predict 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total value of $5,406,197.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. This trade represents 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. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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.