Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 242,149 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.8%, owning approximately 9.51% of the company, which is valued at $15.93 billion.
• Several institutional investors have modified their holdings, with GAMMA Investing LLC significantly boosting its stake by over 63,000% during the first quarter.
• The Goldman Sachs Group recently declared a quarterly dividend increase from $3.00 to $4.00, representing a yield of 2.2% and a payout ratio of 26.44%.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,169,053 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 242,149 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.51% of The Goldman Sachs Group worth $15,934,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vision Financial Markets LLC grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC now owns 516 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth approximately $683,000. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 617 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 95.9% in the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 474 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total value of $5,406,197.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. This trade represents a 28.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221 over the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:GS traded up $2.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $721.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,275,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,022,910. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.38 and a 12 month high of $737.88. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $681.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $614.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The business had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.62 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $4.00 dividend. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. HSBC restated 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $660.00.

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.