The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Stake Reduced by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, selling 3,870 shares and now owning 215,589 shares worth approximately $115.1 million.
• The firm's CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares for about $4.7 million, reflecting a 4.98% decrease in his position, while COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares valued at about $6.75 million.
• The Goldman Sachs Group announced an increased quarterly dividend, raising it from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, with a new yield of 2.1% set to be paid on September 29th.

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 215,589 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 3,870 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.07% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $115,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 8.2% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 38,306 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $20,926,000 after purchasing an additional 2,919 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 13.6% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,891,260 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $967,193,000 after purchasing an additional 225,993 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 21.0% in the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 53,518 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $29,236,000 after purchasing an additional 9,290 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 18.7% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,757 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $3,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 212.8% in the first quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 11,503 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $6,284,000 after purchasing an additional 7,826 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $750.51, for a total value of $6,754,590.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 106,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at $79,755,196.68. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price target on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and set a $627.00 target price (up previously from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 2.4%

NYSE:GS opened at $748.08 on Friday. 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 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.38 and a 1-year high of $753.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $722.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $626.45.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.62 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current 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 2.1%. 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%.

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.

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