The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 20.7% during Q2, holding 118,312 shares worth approximately $85.62 million.
• Insider trading activity included significant sales by John F.W. Rogers and John E. Waldron, with combined sales totaling over $11.2 million in July and August.
• The Goldman Sachs Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $4.00 per share, up from $3.00, representing a 2.0% dividend yield.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 20.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,312 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 20,304 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $85,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GS. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% in the 1st 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. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% during the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, 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 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. 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total transaction of $6,934,016.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 115,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,463,679.48. This represents a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $804.45. 3,788,014 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,604,564. The stock has a market cap of $243.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $738.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $638.00. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.38 and a 12-month high of $809.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 Goldman Sachs Group's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This is a boost 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 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GS shares. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $785.00 to $855.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $665.00.

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.