Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Buys New Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 775 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.9% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,038 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,752,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 816 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $67,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 2,056 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Director John B. Hess purchased 3,904 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.68 per share, with a total value of $1,997,598.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,997,598.72. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $660.00 to $594.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $560.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $593.40.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:GS opened at $614.49 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $437.37 and a 12 month high of $672.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The firm's 50 day moving average is $555.71 and its 200 day moving average is $582.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.57 by $1.55. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The firm had revenue of $15.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $11.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company 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.

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