Bristlecone Advisors LLC Raises Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Bristlecone Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 113.6%, owning 940 shares valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the first quarter.
• Goldman Sachs reported earnings of $10.91 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and showed a revenue increase of 14.5% year-over-year.
• The company has declared a dividend increase to $4.00 per share, up from $3.00, with a payment date set for September 29th.

Bristlecone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 113.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 940 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth $583,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 3,817 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,186,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 24,451 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $14,002,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

NYSE:GS traded up $2.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $721.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,275,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,002,584. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.38 and a 1-year high of $737.88. The firm has a market cap of $218.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.38. The business's 50 day moving average price is $681.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $614.05. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.62 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change 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 Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. 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 note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $660.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was 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 $47,176,283.79. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company 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.