Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Buys New Shares in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Sandhill Capital Partners LLC acquired 6,530 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., valued at approximately $3,567,000, marking a new investment in the firm during the first quarter.
• Institional ownership of The Goldman Sachs Group is significant, with 71.21% of the stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• The company recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $4.00 per share, up from $3.00, reflecting a strong financial position.

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,530 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $3,567,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,038,057 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $594,412,000 after buying an additional 138,198 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth $321,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 161.8% during the 1st quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 14,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,643,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of GS traded down $1.2870 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $740.6030. 623,664 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,520,842. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $749.05. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $224.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $705.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $620.45.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict 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 business 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 dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 worth $14,423,221 over the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on GS. Hsbc Global Res downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $660.00.

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.