The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Sold by First Heartland Consultants Inc.

Key Points

• First Heartland Consultants Inc. has reduced its investment in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. by 32.1% during Q1, now holding 991 shares valued at $541,000.
• The Goldman Sachs Group recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $4.00 per share, which reflects an annualized yield of 2.20%.
• The company reported earnings of $10.91 per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates and marking a 14.5% revenue growth year-over-year.

First Heartland Consultants Inc. reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 32.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 991 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 468 shares during the quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc.'s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% in the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% in the first quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:GS traded up $2.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $734.33. 567,096 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,616,171. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $437.37 and a 1 year high of $737.88. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $662.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $607.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.84% 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 in the previous year, the business earned $8.62 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. 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 26.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total value of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,176,283.79. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 target price on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and issued a $627.00 target price (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

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.