The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Stake Boosted by Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.

Key Points

• Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. has increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.7%, owning 10,701 shares valued at approximately $5.8 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Goldman Sachs, with Wells Fargo increasing it from $650 to $785 and Morgan Stanley from $680 to $715.
• The Goldman Sachs Group has announced a quarterly dividend of $4.00 per share, up from the previous $3.00, reflecting strong financial performance with a recent EPS of $10.91.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,701 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $5,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 63,864.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,976,684 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,172,423,000 after buying an additional 3,970,467 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.2% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,332,804 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,820,677,000 after buying an additional 40,125 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at $1,766,238,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,963,836 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,124,532,000 after purchasing an additional 256,204 shares during the period. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at $944,334,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on 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. Hsbc Global Res lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $738.6040 on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $439.38 and a one year high of $749.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.38. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $707.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $621.03.

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 firm had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.62 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is 35.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $47,176,283.79. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221 in the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company 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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