The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Stock Position Raised by Covenant Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Covenant Asset Management LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 517.2% during the 2nd quarter, acquiring a total of 6,178 shares valued at approximately $4.37 million.
• Research firms have raised their price targets for Goldman Sachs, with Citigroup raising its target to $700.00 and Wells Fargo lifting it to $855.00, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.
• The Goldman Sachs Group announced a quarterly dividend payment of $4.00 per share, a notable increase from its previous $3.00 dividend, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Covenant Asset Management LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 517.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,178 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 5,177 shares during the quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $4,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 45.9% during the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 46.9% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 72 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GS. Citigroup upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $785.00 to $855.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $665.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $802.91 on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.38 and a 1 year high of $825.25. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $747.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $648.04. The company has a market cap of $243.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.41. 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 (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.26%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total transaction of $5,406,197.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. The trade was a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total value of $6,934,016.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 115,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at $86,463,679.48. The trade was a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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