First Trust Advisors LP Sells 45,998 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 26.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 131,076 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 45,998 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $110,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at $2,515,830,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,657.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,596,487 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,282,312,000 after buying an additional 2,448,767 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at about $2,024,921,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 428.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 556,254 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $488,947,000 after acquiring an additional 450,984 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 84,499.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 422,995 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $35,785,000 after acquiring an additional 422,495 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Kathryn H. Ruemmler sold 14,292 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $939.07, for a total transaction of $13,421,188.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,657 shares in the company, valued at $14,703,018.99. This represents a 47.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 10,301 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $929.17, for a total transaction of $9,571,380.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,889,079.46. The trade was a 61.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,450 shares of company stock valued at $29,668,201. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on GS. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,145.00 price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $891.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,061.43.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of GS stock opened at $1,074.56 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $694.05 and a fifty-two week high of $1,153.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1,045.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $951.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $317.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.30.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The investment management company reported $20.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.47 by $6.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 18.59% and a net margin of 15.53%.The company had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.91 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue was up 39.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 68.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $5.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.50. This represents a $20.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

Key Headlines Impacting The Goldman Sachs Group

Here are the key news stories impacting The Goldman Sachs Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs posted record quarterly earnings per share of $20.98, with strong revenue and profit growth that reinforced the company’s earnings momentum and supported the stock’s valuation. David Solomon’s Goldman Sachs Just Posted a Record $20.98 in Quarterly Earnings Per Share. Here’s What Powered It.
• Positive Sentiment: Management is backing the Senate’s CLARITY Act for crypto market structure, which could help Goldman’s digital asset and trading businesses by creating clearer rules and a more favorable operating framework. Goldman Sachs CEO Supports Senate CLARITY Act Despite Industry Doubts
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentary pieces highlighted Goldman Sachs as a strong momentum and long-term stock, which may be adding to bullish sentiment around the shares. Goldman Sachs (GS) is a Great Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman launched a private markets platform for wealthy clients, expanding its alternatives offering and potentially opening a new fee-generating growth avenue. Goldman Sachs backs surprising non-AI stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles about oil prices, portfolio positioning, and analyst notes mainly reflect Goldman Sachs’ market influence and research activity, but they are less directly tied to GS’s own earnings or fundamentals.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a global investment banking and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1869 as a commercial paper business, the company has grown into a diversified financial institution that provides a broad range of services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. The firm is led by Chief Executive Officer David M. Solomon and operates across major financial centers worldwide.

Goldman Sachs’ core businesses include investment banking, global markets, asset and wealth management, and consumer banking.