Gradient Capital Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Gradient Capital Advisors acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group, purchasing 328 shares valued at approximately $232,000 in the second quarter.
• Analysts have shown mixed sentiment towards Goldman Sachs, with ratings ranging from "Buy" to "Sell," and an average price target of $665.00.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Gradient Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 328 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 45.9% during the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 2,485 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. King Wealth Management Group increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.8% during the first quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,086 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 2,020 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,877 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $3,211,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Zacks Research cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $665.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. This 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 worth $28,111,828 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of GS stock opened at $802.91 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $747.32 and its 200-day moving average is $646.41. 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 market capitalization of $243.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.41. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $825.25.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect 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 announced 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. The ex-dividend date 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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