The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Bought by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. by 2.3%, now owning approximately 322,998 shares valued at $174.25 million.
• The Goldman Sachs Group recently reported quarterly earnings of $10.91 per share, exceeding estimates and showing a 14.5% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Goldman Sachs announced a dividend increase to $4.00 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders with a yield of 2.1%.

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 322,998 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 7,409 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.11% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $174,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 63,864.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,970,467 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,766,238,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $944,334,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $897,185,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in 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 valued at $741,018,000 after purchasing an additional 882,099 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of GS traded down $9.45 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $721.51. 1,550,078 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,544,504. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $697.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $618.14. The company has a market cap of $218.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.38 and a 12-month high of $749.05.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.62 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $4.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of 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. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

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