The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Purchased by Costello Asset Management INC

Costello Asset Management INC boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 95.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 474 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% during the first quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $627.00 price target (up previously from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $660.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $725.83 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $672.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $611.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $222.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.38. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $437.37 and a 12 month high of $737.88.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.44%.

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.