Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 9.4% during the first quarter, owning a total of 865,469 shares valued at approximately $472.8 million.
• The company announced a dividend increase, raising its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, with the payment scheduled for September 29th.
• The Goldman Sachs Group reported a 14.5% year-over-year increase in revenue for the last quarter, reaching $14.58 billion and exceeding analysts' expectations.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 865,469 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 74,049 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.28% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $472,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% in the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% in the first quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were 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 trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS traded up $2.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $721.76. 1,275,362 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,022,910. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.38. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $681.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $614.35. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.38 and a 52-week high of $737.88.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The business had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the firm posted $8.62 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $4.00 dividend. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is 26.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of 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. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and set a $627.00 price objective (up previously from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Profile

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.