436 Shares in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Purchased by Commonwealth Financial Services LLC

Key Points

• Commonwealth Financial Services LLC purchased 436 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, worth approximately $238,000, indicating ongoing interest from institutional investors.
• Goldman Sachs recently increased its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• The company has reported a 14.5% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, with adjusted earnings per share of $10.91, surpassing analyst expectations.

Commonwealth Financial Services LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 436 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GS. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% in the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% in the first quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GS has been the subject of several research reports. 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JMP Securities reissued 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. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock opened at $724.30 on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $737.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $676.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $613.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.38.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The business had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.62 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. This is an increase 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio 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.

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