Westpac Banking Corp Cuts Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp reduced its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 9.9%, now owning 20,042 shares valued at approximately $10.95 million, making it the 19th largest position in its portfolio.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their stakes in The Goldman Sachs Group, indicating continued interest as they now collectively own over 71% of the company's shares.
• The Goldman Sachs Group recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $4.00 per share, up from $3.00, reflecting strong performance despite market fluctuations.

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 9.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,042 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 2,214 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for approximately 0.8% of Westpac Banking Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $10,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth about $546,000. Saiph Capital LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 2,430 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,327,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Rossmore Private Capital grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 1,365 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 16.0% during the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 19,188 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $10,482,000 after buying an additional 2,644 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 83,443 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $45,584,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GS shares. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and set a $627.00 target price (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $660.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at $13,469,493.60. This trade represents a 28.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total transaction of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded up $2.95 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $747.64. 1,371,096 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,568,910. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.38 and a 52-week high of $748.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $689.63 and a 200-day moving average of $616.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick 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 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 analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.62 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $4.00 dividend. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.44%.

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.