Abbot Financial Management Inc. Takes $327,000 Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Abbot Financial Management Inc. acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, purchasing 598 shares valued at approximately $327,000.
• Hedge funds and institutional investors collectively own 71.21% of The Goldman Sachs Group's stock, with several organizations significantly increasing their positions during the first quarter.
• The Goldman Sachs Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $4.00 per share, an increase from the prior dividend of $3.00, reflecting a robust annualized dividend yield of 2.20%.

Abbot Financial Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 598 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total value of $4,706,944.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 126,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. This represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,469,493.60. This trade represents a 28.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 1.0%

GS traded down $7.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $723.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,173,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,614,990. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $665.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $608.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.35. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $437.37 and a 52 week high of $737.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.12.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GS shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.