Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Raises Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 20.4% during Q1, holding a total of 76,532 shares worth approximately $41.81 million.
• The Goldman Sachs Group reported a quarterly earnings per share of $10.91, exceeding analysts' expectations of $9.82, with a revenue of $14.58 billion, up 14.5% year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $4.00 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.22%, set to be paid on September 29th.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 20.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,532 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 12,959 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $41,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during 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 lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% during 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

GS stock traded up $10.11 on Tuesday, hitting $733.76. The company had a trading volume of 905,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,621,946. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $437.37 and a 12-month high of $733.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $659.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $607.08. The stock has a market cap of $225.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.35.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business 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 13.84%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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 dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GS. Daiwa America downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $627.00 price target (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $660.00.

Insider Activity

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total transaction of $5,406,197.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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.