KBC Group NV Acquires 34,499 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• KBC Group NV increased its stake in Goldman Sachs by 11.7% in the first quarter, buying 34,499 additional shares to bring its total to 328,720 shares worth about $278.1 million.
• Goldman Sachs posted a strong quarterly earnings beat, reporting EPS of $20.98 versus estimates of $14.47 and revenue of $20.34 billion, up 39.4% from a year earlier.
• The company also raised its dividend to $5.00 per share from $4.50, while analysts currently have an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $1,061.43.

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 11.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 328,720 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,499 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for 0.7% of KBC Group NV's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. KBC Group NV owned about 0.11% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $278,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,989,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 90.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 821 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $900.00 to $955.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Dbs Bank upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $890.00 to $1,050.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,145.00 price target on The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Wednesday. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, CICC Research lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $825.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,061.43.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, insider Alex S. Golten sold 1,116 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $936.18, for a total value of $1,044,776.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,413,472.04. The trade was a 30.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 6,857 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $973.55, for a total value of $6,675,632.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,248,198.50. This trade represents a 18.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 32,566 shares of company stock worth $30,712,978 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group News Summary

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 Stock Performance

Shares of GS stock opened at $1,066.28 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,035.20 and a 200-day moving average of $945.82. The company has a market cap of $314.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $691.88 and a 52 week high of $1,153.99.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The investment management company reported $20.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $14.47 by $6.51. The company had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 39.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $10.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 66.83 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $4.50. This represents a $20.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.78%.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

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.

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