RPG Investment Advisory LLC Purchases 16,780 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• RPG Investment Advisory LLC significantly increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.2% during the first quarter, raising its holdings to 33,042 shares valued at approximately $18 million.
• CEO David M. Solomon and CFO Denis P. Coleman both executed significant stock sales, reducing their ownership by 4.98% and 28.64%, respectively, amid a broader trend of insider selling.
• The Goldman Sachs Group announced a quarterly dividend increase from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, reflecting strong financial performance with reported earnings of $10.91 EPS for the recent quarter.

RPG Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 103.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,042 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,780 shares during the quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $18,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% in the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% in the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 126,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $13,469,493.60. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,079 shares of company stock valued at $14,423,221 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 3.6%

GS traded up $25.8940 during trading on Friday, reaching $741.8440. 1,948,403 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,761,464. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $439.38 and a fifty-two week high of $749.05. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $705.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $620.45. The stock has a market cap of $224.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.62 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 target price on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Hsbc Global Res cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

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.