Oak Thistle LLC Acquires Shares of 2,335 The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,335 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $1,276,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GS. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position 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. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of GS stock traded up $9.45 on Friday, reaching $728.63. 1,850,923 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,301,066. The company has a market capitalization of $223.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.35. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $437.37 and a 12-month high of $729.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business's 50 day moving average price is $657.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $605.76.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.84% 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $8.62 EPS. The company's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $4.00 dividend. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is presently 26.44%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 126,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,876,426.56. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,079 shares of company stock valued at $14,423,221 in the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Barclays dropped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $660.00.

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.