The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Bought by LGT Group Foundation

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 63.9%, owning 13,353 shares valued at approximately $7.3 million.
• The Goldman Sachs Group reported $10.91 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a 14.5% revenue growth compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $4.00 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.2%, set to be paid on September 29th.

LGT Group Foundation increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 63.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,353 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,208 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $7,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. King Wealth Management Group boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.8% during the first quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,086 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,877 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $3,211,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.6% during the first quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 777 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 2,330 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% during the first quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and set a $627.00 price objective (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total value of $5,406,197.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total transaction of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

NYSE GS traded up $2.95 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $747.64. 1,371,096 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,919,637. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.38 and a 52-week high of $748.91. The company has a market capitalization of $226.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm's 50-day moving average is $692.48 and its 200-day moving average is $617.21.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.62 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast 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 issued a $4.00 dividend. This is a boost 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 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

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.