Jennison Associates LLC Sells 30,886 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its Goldman Sachs position by 2.3% in the first quarter, selling 30,886 shares and leaving it with 1.32 million shares worth about $1.12 billion.
• Goldman Sachs posted a strong quarterly earnings beat, reporting $20.98 EPS versus $14.47 expected and revenue of $20.34 billion versus $16.22 billion estimated. Revenue rose 39.4% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $5.00 per share from $4.50, while analysts’ overall view remains mixed-to-neutral with an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,061.43.

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,322,121 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 30,886 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.45% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $1,118,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,515,830,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,657.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,596,487 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,282,312,000 after buying an additional 2,448,767 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth about $2,024,921,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 428.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 556,254 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $488,947,000 after buying an additional 450,984 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 84,499.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 422,995 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $35,785,000 after buying an additional 422,495 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. CICC Research upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $825.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "neutral" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, April 13th. HSBC lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $729.00 to $765.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,145.00 price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,061.43.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS stock opened at $1,066.28 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $691.88 and a one year high of $1,153.99. The company's 50-day moving average is $1,035.20 and its 200 day moving average is $945.44. The company has a market capitalization of $314.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.11.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The investment management company reported $20.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $14.47 by $6.51. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.22 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 18.59%. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue was up 39.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $10.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 66.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $5.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $4.50. This represents a $20.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Alex S. Golten sold 1,116 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $936.18, for a total transaction of $1,044,776.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,413,472.04. This trade represents a 30.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kathryn H. Ruemmler sold 14,292 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $939.07, for a total transaction of $13,421,188.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,703,018.99. The trade was a 47.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 32,566 shares of company stock worth $30,712,978 over the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting The Goldman Sachs Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs was added to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) list, reinforcing bullish sentiment around the stock after its strong quarterly results.
• Positive Sentiment: The bank also made Zacks’ Strong Buy income stocks list, reflecting investor interest in Goldman Sachs as a dividend and total-return play.
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Goldman Sachs to $1,300 from $1,150 and kept a buy rating, implying additional upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan and other commentary highlighted Goldman Sachs’ strong first-half M&A performance, along with record Q2 results and a 25% dividend increase plus a $4 billion share repurchase program.
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs’ equity underwriting revenue jumped sharply, helped by renewed capital markets activity and AI-related deal flow, which supports optimism for future investment banking revenue.
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, Goldman Sachs disclosed a 3.5% voting interest in Qiagen, a portfolio-related filing that is not clearly material to Goldman’s own earnings outlook.

The Goldman Sachs Group Profile

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a global investment banking and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1869 as a commercial paper business, the company has grown into a diversified financial institution that provides a broad range of services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. The firm is led by Chief Executive Officer David M. Solomon and operates across major financial centers worldwide.

Goldman Sachs' core businesses include investment banking, global markets, asset and wealth management, and consumer banking.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.