Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. Purchases Shares of 1,007 The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. has acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, buying 1,007 shares valued at approximately $550,000 during the first quarter.
• Goldman Sachs recently reported earnings of $10.91 EPS, beating estimates, with revenue of $14.58 billion, marking a 14.5% increase year-over-year.
• The company has also announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, reflecting a positive change in shareholder returns.

Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,007 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $550,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth $25,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% during the first quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded down $15.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $729.93. 2,296,062 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,500,379. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.38 and a twelve month high of $753.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $720.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $625.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.62 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is 35.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total value of $4,706,944.48. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 106,268 shares in the company, 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 have sold 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and issued a $627.00 price target (up previously from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Zacks Research raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued 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 company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $660.00.

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.