Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Acquires 14,973 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC has increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, acquiring an additional 14,973 shares, bringing its total stake to 127,209 shares valued at approximately $69.5 million.
• The Goldman Sachs Group announced a quarterly dividend increase, paying $4.00 per share on September 29, up from the previous $3.00, resulting in an annualized dividend of $16.00 and a yield of 2.3%.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $10.91, exceeding analysts' expectations by $1.09, with a revenue increase of 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,209 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 14,973 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $69,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 158,372 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $86,517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,457 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 14.9% in the first quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 15,228 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $8,319,000 after buying an additional 1,979 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.5% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $609,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Delta Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.2% in the first quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,234 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $716,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Powell Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.5% in the first quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,536 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,478,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $709.40 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $217.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.38. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $437.37 and a fifty-two 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $669.82 and a 200-day moving average of $610.88.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 announced 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 yield of 2.3%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at $13,469,493.60. The trade was a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221 over the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on 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. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 target price on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average 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.

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