Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 2,451 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 14.8%, selling 2,451 shares to hold a total of 14,129 shares worth approximately $7.7 million.
• Goldman Sachs announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, which equates to an annualized dividend of $16.00.
• Recent analyst ratings show mixed sentiments, with a consensus price target of $660.00 and various ratings ranging from "buy" to "reduce" on Goldman Sachs stock.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,129 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 2,451 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $7,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,038,057 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $594,412,000 after buying an additional 138,198 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth $321,000. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 41.5% in the first quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 49,800 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $27,205,000 after purchasing an additional 14,600 shares during the period. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth $1,643,000. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.2% in the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 3,271 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,787,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GS has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and issued a $627.00 price target (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on 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. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE GS opened at $724.30 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $676.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $613.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $737.88. The company has a market capitalization of $219.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.38.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.62 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $4.00 per share. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related 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 stock was sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total transaction of $4,706,944.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 126,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at $13,469,493.60. This trade represents a 28.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,079 shares of company stock valued at $14,423,221. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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