Merit Financial Group LLC Has $13.49 Million Stock Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 70.7% in Q2, holding 19,057 shares worth approximately $13.49 million.
• The company reported $10.91 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $9.82, with quarterly revenue up 14.5% year over year.
• The Goldman Sachs Group recently raised its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, reflecting a growing commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,057 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,891 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $13,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GS. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 617,504.5% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 29,058,291 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $20,566,005,000 after buying an additional 29,053,586 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.2% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,332,804 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,820,677,000 after buying an additional 40,125 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,766,238,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,084,108 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,138,527,000 after buying an additional 120,272 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 13.6% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,891,260 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $967,193,000 after buying an additional 225,993 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at $47,176,283.79. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $790.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $239.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.38 and a 1-year high of $825.25. The business's 50 day moving average is $755.05 and its 200-day moving average is $655.73.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%.The company had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.62 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $4.00 per share. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is 35.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on GS shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $725.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $750.00 to $843.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Friday. They set a "market perform" rating and a $785.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $717.00.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.