The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Position Lifted by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.5%, owning 23,458 shares valued at $12.8 million as of the latest reporting period.
• CEO David M. Solomon and CFO Denis P. Coleman sold a combined total of 14,071 shares of the company's stock, reflecting significant decreases in their ownership positions.
• The Goldman Sachs Group announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, indicating a positive outlook with an annualized yield of 2.20%.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,458 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $12,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Wynn Capital LLC boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,877 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $3,211,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.6% in the first quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 777 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.9% in the first quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 2,330 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% in the first quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6.7% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock traded up $2.64 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $726.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 597,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,619,691. The stock has a market cap of $222.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.35. 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 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $437.37 and a fifty-two week high of $732.52. The company's 50 day moving average is $659.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $607.08.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.62 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $4.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is currently 35.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp restated a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $627.00 price objective (up previously from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $660.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total transaction of $5,406,197.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. This represents a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company 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.