Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 33,400 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.4%, selling 33,400 shares and now holding approximately 420,675 shares valued at about $229.8 million.
• The Goldman Sachs Group reported a strong quarterly earnings result, with $10.91 EPS and revenue of $14.58 billion, surpassing estimates and showing a 14.5% year-over-year growth.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00, representing an annualized dividend of $16.00 and a yield of 2.19%.

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 420,675 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 33,400 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.13% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $229,811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $321,000. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 41.5% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,643,000. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.2% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS traded down $7.20 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $723.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,356,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,972,809. The company has a market cap of $222.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $667.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $609.90. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $437.37 and a 52-week high of $737.88.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 13.84%. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion during 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 company's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total value of $4,706,944.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company 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.