Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA Acquires 3,237 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 11,988.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,264 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 3,237 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,038,057 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $594,412,000 after acquiring an additional 138,198 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc. grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 15,506 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $8,879,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,743 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $3,309,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth approximately $1,643,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,418 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $4,691,000 after acquiring an additional 2,942 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $560.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. JMP Securities cut their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $600.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $570.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $603.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John B. Hess bought 3,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $511.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,997,598.72. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,904 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,598.72. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of GS traded up $9.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $725.05. 1,502,041 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,390,239. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $222.48 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.35. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $437.37 and a 52-week high of $725.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $609.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $589.61.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $12.57 by $1.55. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.86% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The company had revenue of $15.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $11.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

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.