State of Alaska Department of Revenue Cuts Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• The State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.1%, selling 2,090 shares during the second quarter, leaving them with 38,879 shares valued at approximately $27.5 million.
• CEO David M. Solomon and EVP John F.W. Rogers both sold shares of the company, decreasing their positions by 4.98% and 8.37%, respectively, in July transactions.
• Goldman Sachs declared a quarterly dividend of $4.00 per share, representing a significant increase from its previous dividend and reflects a 2.0% yield.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,879 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 2,090 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $27,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the firm's 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 directly owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828 over the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. 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 note on Thursday, July 17th. Zacks Research downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and set a $627.00 target price (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $785.00 to $855.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $665.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

NYSE GS opened at $802.91 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $747.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $646.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.41. 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 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.38 and a 1-year high of $825.25.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%.The company's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 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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