The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Bought by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 83.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,961 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,807 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $2,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 63,864.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,976,684 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,172,423,000 after purchasing an additional 3,970,467 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,332,804 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,820,677,000 after acquiring an additional 40,125 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,766,238,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,963,836 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,124,532,000 after acquiring an additional 256,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,891,260 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $967,193,000 after acquiring an additional 225,993 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total value of $5,406,197.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $741.8440 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $224.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $705.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $620.70. 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 $749.05.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.62 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $4.00 per share. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GS shares. Hsbc Global Res lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Zacks Research raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Citigroup raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $660.00.

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.