Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Acquires 14,114 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 135.8%, acquiring an additional 14,114 shares, bringing their total to 24,508 shares.
• The Goldman Sachs Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $10.91, exceeding expectations, along with a revenue of $14.58 billion, which is up 14.5% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $4.00 per share, raising it from the previous amount of $3.00, indicating a positive outlook for shareholder returns.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 135.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,508 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,114 shares during the period. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up about 0.9% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $13,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GS. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 20.4% in the first quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 76,532 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $41,809,000 after buying an additional 12,959 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at about $4,551,000. AM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.8% in the first quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 15,580 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $8,511,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.7% in the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 13,214 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $7,219,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudent Investors Network Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at about $249,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:GS opened at $719.22 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $655.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $604.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $437.37 and a one year high of $726.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.35.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.62 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given 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 yield of 2.22%. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is 26.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets cut The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, April 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.

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