Covenant Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Covenant Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 86.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,001 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Covenant Asset Management LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $950,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,877 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $3,211,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 777 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 2,330 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,273,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GS traded up $2.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $708.31. 1,923,088 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,366,319. The company has a market cap of $217.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.35. 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 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $437.37 and a one year high of $726.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $647.01 and a 200 day moving average of $601.08.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 12.37%. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.62 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $4.00 dividend. 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. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and set a $627.00 target price (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $649.29.

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.