The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Holdings Lifted by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Key Points

• Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. has increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 23.2%, now holding 40,496 shares valued at approximately $22.12 million.
• Goldman Sachs declared a quarterly dividend of $4.00 per share, up from the previous $3.00, with a yield of 2.2% and a payout ratio of 26.44%.
• Recently, several executives sold significant amounts of stock; EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares, while CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares, leading to substantial decreases in their ownership.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 23.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,496 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 7,628 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $22,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $583,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 3,817 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,186,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,523 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $13,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and set a $627.00 price objective (up previously from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on 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. Hsbc Global Res lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

GS stock traded down $0.4210 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $720.9590. 1,071,270 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,539,674. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.38 and a 1-year high of $749.05. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $699.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $618.86. The firm has a market cap of $218.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.62 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $4.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 35.26%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at $13,469,493.60. This trade represents a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,079 shares of company stock valued at $14,423,221. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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.