SageView Advisory Group LLC Trims Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• SageView Advisory Group LLC reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.2%, now owning 2,291 shares valued at approximately $1.25 million.
• Goldman Sachs' quarterly dividend was increased from $3.00 to $4.00, making the annualized dividend $16.00 with a yield of 2.1%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Goldman Sachs, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $660.00.

SageView Advisory Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,291 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 411 shares during the quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% during the first quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GS shares. Zacks Research raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Citigroup boosted 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 note on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, 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 research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $660.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total transaction of $4,706,944.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at $89,876,426.56. This represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total transaction of $6,934,016.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 115,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,463,679.48. This trade represents a 7.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $769.95 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $726.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $629.25. The company has a market cap of $233.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.41. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.38 and a 52-week high of $774.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The business's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is currently 35.26%.

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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