Strs Ohio Takes Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Strs Ohio established a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group, acquiring 194,716 shares valued at approximately $106.37 million, representing around 0.06% ownership in the company.
• The Goldman Sachs Group will increase its quarterly dividend to $4.00 per share, up from the previous $3.00, with record shareholders set to receive the payout on September 29th.
• CEO David M. Solomon and CFO Denis P. Coleman recently sold shares amounting to over $10 million, indicating significant insider activity amid a strong quarter for the firm, which reported earnings per share of $10.91, exceeding estimates.

Strs Ohio bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 194,716 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $106,371,000. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.06% of The Goldman Sachs Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during the first 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 position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total value of $5,406,197.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. The trade was a 28.64% 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 in the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.8%

GS stock opened at $769.95 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $233.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.41. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.38 and a twelve month high of $774.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $726.53 and a 200-day moving average of $629.25.

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

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of 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 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group 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.

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