GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Takes $564,000 Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• GLOBALT Investments LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group, purchasing 1,032 shares valued at approximately $564,000 during the first quarter.
• Goldman Sachs recently reported earnings of $10.91 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations by $1.09, with a revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, a 14.5% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $4.00 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.20%.

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,032 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $564,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% in the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% in the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and set a $627.00 target price (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.3%

GS traded up $1.85 on Wednesday, reaching $733.83. 482,752 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,615,983. The company's 50 day moving average is $662.35 and its 200-day moving average is $607.95. The company has a market cap of $225.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.35. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $437.37 and a twelve month high of $737.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.12.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.62 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict 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 will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $4.00 per share. 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 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total value of $4,706,944.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.