Apollon Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. by 72.3% during the second quarter, owning 24,142 shares valued at approximately $17 million.
• The Goldman Sachs Group recently reported second-quarter earnings of $10.91 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $9.82, with revenue reaching $14.58 billion.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $4.00, up from $3.00, indicating a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders, with a dividend yield of 2.1%.

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 72.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,142 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,128 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $17,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GS. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.4% in the second quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 429 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 294 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 45.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 2,485 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 3,597 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 1.9%

The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $765.14 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $760.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $662.32. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.38 and a 1-year high of $825.25. The company has a market cap of $231.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

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 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 firm had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.62 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $4.00 dividend. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $706.00 to $854.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $750.00 to $843.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $752.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $727.31.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.51, for a total transaction of $6,754,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 106,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,755,196.68. This represents a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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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