Kovack Advisors Inc. Buys 3,178 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 118.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,854 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 3,178 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.'s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $3,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% in the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% in the first 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. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of GS stock traded down $4.88 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $724.10. 539,329 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,627,969. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.35. The company's 50-day moving average price is $657.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $605.94. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $437.37 and a 12-month high of $732.52.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.62 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $4.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Daiwa America lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 target price on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and issued a $627.00 target price (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $660.00.

Insider Activity

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total value of $5,406,197.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,469,493.60. This trade represents a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,079 shares of company stock valued at $14,423,221 in the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.