Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $2.20 Million Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 40.1% during the 2nd quarter, bringing its total holdings to a value of $2.20 million.
• The Goldman Sachs Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $4.00 per share, up from the previous $3.00, reflecting a positive change in its financial health.
• Insider selling was noted, with notable executives selling shares, including John F.W. Rogers selling 6,008 shares for over $4.3 million, indicating a decrease in their ownership position.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 40.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,105 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 888 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $2,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 575 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $281,000. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 5,874 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $4,164,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $238,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $236,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total transaction of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS stock opened at $790.32 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $239.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $755.05 and a 200-day moving average of $655.05. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $439.38 and a one year high of $825.25.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%.The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Friday. They set a "market perform" rating and a $785.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $706.00 to $854.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $725.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $713.88.

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.

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