The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Purchased by Hancock Whitney Corp

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 34.5%, owning 6,995 shares valued at approximately $3.8 million.
• Goldman Sachs is experiencing significant changes in institutional investor positions, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its stake by an astonishing 63,864.7% in the first quarter.
• The firm recently raised its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, reflecting a positive change and providing a yield of 2.1% for shareholders.

Hancock Whitney Corp raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 34.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,995 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,793 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $3,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 63,864.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,976,684 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,172,423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,970,467 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,766,238,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth about $897,185,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 214.1% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,294,084 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $741,018,000 after purchasing an additional 882,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 102.6% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 14,764 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $8,065,000 after purchasing an additional 585,084 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and set a $627.00 price objective (up previously from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total value 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. The trade was a 7.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $4,706,944.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 126,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS opened at $748.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The firm has a market cap of $226.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.41. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $722.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $626.45. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.38 and a 12-month high of $753.33.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The firm 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 Goldman Sachs Group's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. 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 35.26%.

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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