SRN Advisors LLC Sells 711 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• SRN Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. by 36.5% in the first quarter, owning 1,236 shares valued at $675,000 after selling 711 shares.
• Insider transactions revealed that COO John E. Waldron and EVP John F.W. Rogers sold a combined total of 15,252 shares of the company's stock recently, indicating a decrease in their positions.
• The Goldman Sachs Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $4.00, up from the previous $3.00, representing an annualized yield of 2.1%.

SRN Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 36.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,236 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 711 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $675,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total transaction of $6,934,016.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 115,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $86,463,679.48. This represents a 7.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total value of $4,706,944.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded up $10.35 on Thursday, hitting $740.91. 547,302 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,481,152. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $439.38 and a one year high of $753.33. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $721.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $625.85. The company has a market capitalization of $224.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.41.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 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 company had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.62 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $4.00 per share. 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. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their target price 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.