2,300 Shares in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Acquired by Guardian Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Guardian Partners Inc. has invested approximately $1.22 million in The Goldman Sachs Group, acquiring 2,300 shares of the company's stock.
• The Goldman Sachs Group's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $10.91 EPS against a consensus estimate of $9.82.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, leading to an annualized yield of 2.2%.

Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,300 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $1,217,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total value of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 106,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $79,755,196.68. This trade represents a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE GS traded up $6.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $769.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,996,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,578,995. The company has a market capitalization of $233.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $726.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $629.25. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $774.47. 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 Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.62 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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 declared 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 represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on GS. Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group 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.