Calton & Associates Inc. Acquires 13,203 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Calton & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 925.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,630 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,203 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up approximately 1.0% of Calton & Associates Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Calton & Associates Inc.'s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $7,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GS. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position in 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded up $2.47 on Friday, reaching $708.31. 1,923,088 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,366,319. 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 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $437.37 and a 52 week high of $726.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $647.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $601.08. The company has a market capitalization of $217.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.35.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 12.37%. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders 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 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 2.26%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on GS. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price target on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $649.29.

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.