Balefire LLC Makes New Investment in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Balefire LLC has acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. worth approximately $415,000 by purchasing 587 shares during the second quarter.
• In addition, several hedge funds have increased stakes or initiated new positions in Goldman Sachs, reflecting growing institutional interest.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase, raising its payment from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.0%.

Balefire LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 587 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $415,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during the first 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 raised its stake 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 worth $35,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.0%

The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $804.45. 3,788,014 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,604,564. The company has a market capitalization of $243.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The business's 50 day moving average is $738.03 and its 200 day moving average is $638.30. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $809.66.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.62 EPS. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is 35.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $785.00 to $855.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Hsbc Global Res cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $665.00.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 106,268 shares in the company, valued at $79,755,196.68. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,876,426.56. This represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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.