Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Has $52.99 Million Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI has reduced its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 22.6%, bringing its ownership to 97,004 shares valued at approximately $52.99 million after selling over 28,000 shares.
• Analysts have provided mixed ratings for Goldman Sachs, with one analyst upgrading the stock to a Strong Buy and others issuing target prices ranging from $627.00 to $790.00.
• The Goldman Sachs Group has announced a quarterly dividend of $4.00, increasing its annualized dividend to $16.00 with a yield of 2.2%, reflecting the company's growth.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI cut its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 22.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 97,004 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 28,383 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $52,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% during the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on GS shares. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 target price on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $627.00 price objective (up previously from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $660.00.

Insider Activity

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at $13,469,493.60. The trade was a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $47,176,283.79. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

NYSE:GS opened at $741.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41. 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 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.38 and a 12-month high of $757.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $724.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $627.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $8.62 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend 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 is presently 35.26%.

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.

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