Sciencast Management LP Takes $547,000 Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP has acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, purchasing 1,001 shares worth approximately $547,000.
• CEO David M. Solomon recently sold 6,608 shares of Goldman Sachs stock, resulting in a 4.98% decrease in his ownership.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $4.00 per share, up from the previous $3.00, reflecting positive growth in revenue and earnings.

Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,001 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $547,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 524,296 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $286,418,000 after buying an additional 116,535 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $321,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 14,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,643,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GS. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on 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, Citizens Jmp reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $660.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total value 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. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded down $3.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $780.87. 1,099,323 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,593,580. 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 firm has a market cap of $236.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 1.64 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 $793.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $728.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $631.75.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.62 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.