Atwood & Palmer Inc. Acquires 32,985 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Atwood & Palmer Inc. significantly increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by purchasing an additional 32,985 shares, raising its ownership by 40,225.6% in the second quarter.
• In a recent insider trading activity, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares for approximately $6.75 million, indicating a 7.81% decrease in his ownership.
• The Goldman Sachs Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $4.00 per share, reflecting a boost from the previous $3.00 and a yield of 2.0%.

Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 40,225.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,067 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,985 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for approximately 1.5% of Atwood & Palmer Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Atwood & Palmer Inc.'s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $23,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.51, for a total value of $6,754,590.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 106,268 shares of the company's stock, 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 the SEC website. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total transaction of $4,706,944.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828 in the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $600.00 target price 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 note on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, HSBC restated 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

NYSE GS opened at $780.87 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $236.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.41. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $793.17. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $728.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $631.75.

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 business had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The company's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.62 earnings per share. Research analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is currently 35.26%.

The Goldman Sachs Group Profile

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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