EP Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 1,064 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 18.7%, acquiring an additional 1,064 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 6,757 shares worth approximately $3.69 million.
• The Goldman Sachs Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $4.00, up from $3.00, which reflects an annualized yield of 2.2%.
• The stock has experienced a price range between a one-year low of $439.38 and a high of $753.33, with an opening price of $728.83 on Thursday.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 18.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,757 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $3,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,038,057 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $594,412,000 after purchasing an additional 138,198 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at $321,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 161.8% in the first quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 41.5% in the 1st quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 49,800 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $27,205,000 after purchasing an additional 14,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at $1,643,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total transaction of $6,934,016.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 115,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $86,463,679.48. This represents a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total transaction of $4,706,944.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Zacks Research upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:GS traded down $9.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $739.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,822,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,535,654. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The business's 50 day moving average price is $723.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $626.92. The stock has a market cap of $223.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.38 and a 1-year high of $757.35.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.62 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $4.00 dividend. This is a boost 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 ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.26%.

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.