Swedbank AB Sells 1,289 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Swedbank AB has reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. by 0.3%, holding 367,461 shares valued at approximately $260 million.
• The firm announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00, with a total annualized dividend of $16.00 and a dividend yield of 2.0%.
• Research firms have mixed sentiments on Goldman Sachs, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $665.00.

Swedbank AB lessened its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 367,461 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 1,289 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.12% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $260,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 28.6% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 524,296 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $286,418,000 after purchasing an additional 116,535 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth $321,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 161.8% during the first 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 during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 41.5% during the first 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 during the period. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth $1,643,000. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total transaction of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,176,283.79. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was 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 directly owned 18,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:GS traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $804.45. 3,788,014 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,604,564. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $738.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $638.00. The company has a market cap of $243.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.41. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.38 and a 12 month high of $809.66.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion during 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 14.32%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $785.00 to $855.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. 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. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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, Zacks Research lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $665.00.

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.