Fayez Sarofim & Co Acquires 375 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 13.6% during the first quarter, now holding shares valued at $1,713,000.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Goldman Sachs, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods setting it at $790.00 and Morgan Stanley at $715.00, reflecting a positive outlook on the stock.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $4.00 per share, up from $3.00, with the ex-dividend date set for August 29th.

Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 13.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,135 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 9.4% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 865,469 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $472,797,000 after buying an additional 74,049 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.9% in the first quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,743 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $952,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at $1,197,000. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 33.5% in the first quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,811 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,535,000 after buying an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 19.9% in the first quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 3,387 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,850,000 after buying an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total transaction of $5,406,197.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total transaction of $4,706,944.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,079 shares of company stock valued at $14,423,221. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.3%

The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded up $2.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $721.76. 1,275,362 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,022,910. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $681.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $614.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.38. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.38 and a 52-week high of $737.88.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.62 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is currently 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.