Wallington Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Wallington Asset Management LLC has reduced its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 14.0%, holding 29,730 shares worth approximately $16.24 million.
• Analyst ratings for Goldman Sachs reflect a mix of sentiments, with one sell rating, twelve holds, and five buys, resulting in an average target price of $660.00.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend increase from $3.00 to $4.00, reflecting a yield of 2.2%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 29th.

Wallington Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,730 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 4,824 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up about 2.3% of Wallington Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Wallington Asset Management LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $16,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. King Wealth Management Group raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.8% in the first quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,086 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,877 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $3,211,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.6% in the first quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 777 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% in the first quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.9% in the first quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 2,330 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,273,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on 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 raised their price target on 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. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price target on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. HSBC reiterated 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, Hsbc Global Res cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

GS stock traded down $4.41 during trading on Thursday, hitting $720.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,399,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,039,580. The firm has a market cap of $218.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.38. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.38 and a 1-year high of $737.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $679.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $613.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.62 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued 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 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 is presently 26.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total value of $4,706,944.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at $13,469,493.60. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their position. 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. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.