The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.5% during the first quarter, owning 20,073 shares valued at approximately $10.97 million.
• Insider activity included CFO Denis P. Coleman selling 7,463 shares for over $5.4 million, reducing his ownership by 28.64%.
• Goldman Sachs reported earnings per share of $10.91 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $9.82, with revenues of $14.58 billion, marking a 14.5% year-over-year increase.

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 103.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,073 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 10,207 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $10,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 83.9% during the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 3,961 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,164,000 after buying an additional 1,807 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.4% during the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 25,336 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $13,841,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,023,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.4% during the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 6,605 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $3,608,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on GS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Zacks Research upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price target on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:GS traded down $3.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $780.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,099,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,620,895. The company has a market capitalization of $236.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.41. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.38 and a 12 month high of $793.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $728.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $631.49.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is currently 35.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. This represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares in the company, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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.