The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Bought by AIA Group Ltd

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in Goldman Sachs by 33.2% in Q1, adding 5,887 shares and bringing its total holding to 23,621 shares worth about $20.0 million.
• Goldman Sachs reported much stronger-than-expected Q2 earnings, posting EPS of $20.98 versus the $14.47 estimate and revenue of $20.34 billion versus $16.22 billion expected.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $5.00 per share from $4.50, while analysts currently have a Hold consensus rating and a $1,061.43 price target.

AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 33.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,621 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,887 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $19,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 287.5% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 31 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Alex S. Golten sold 1,116 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $936.18, for a total value of $1,044,776.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,413,472.04. This represents a 30.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 6,857 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $973.55, for a total value of $6,675,632.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,248,198.50. This represents a 18.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,566 shares of company stock valued at $30,712,978. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on GS. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $970.00 to $940.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,195.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $729.00 to $765.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $891.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $940.00 to $1,120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,061.43.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock opened at $1,066.28 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $1,035.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $945.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.30. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $691.88 and a 1 year high of $1,153.99.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The investment management company reported $20.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $14.47 by $6.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 18.59% and a net margin of 15.53%.The business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.91 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 39.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 66.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $5.00 per share. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $4.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $20.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.87%.

Key Stories Impacting The Goldman Sachs Group

Here are the key news stories impacting The Goldman Sachs Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs was added to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) list, reinforcing bullish sentiment around the stock after its strong quarterly results.
• Positive Sentiment: The bank also made Zacks’ Strong Buy income stocks list, reflecting investor interest in Goldman Sachs as a dividend and total-return play.
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Goldman Sachs to $1,300 from $1,150 and kept a buy rating, implying additional upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan and other commentary highlighted Goldman Sachs’ strong first-half M&A performance, along with record Q2 results and a 25% dividend increase plus a $4 billion share repurchase program.
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs’ equity underwriting revenue jumped sharply, helped by renewed capital markets activity and AI-related deal flow, which supports optimism for future investment banking revenue.
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, Goldman Sachs disclosed a 3.5% voting interest in Qiagen, a portfolio-related filing that is not clearly material to Goldman’s own earnings outlook.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a global investment banking and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1869 as a commercial paper business, the company has grown into a diversified financial institution that provides a broad range of services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. The firm is led by Chief Executive Officer David M. Solomon and operates across major financial centers worldwide.

Goldman Sachs' core businesses include investment banking, global markets, asset and wealth management, and consumer banking.

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