Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 634 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 4.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,562 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $6,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 697 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 221,826 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $85,596,000 after buying an additional 17,280 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,030,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,616,000. Finally, Manhattan West Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC now owns 6,785 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,617,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on GS shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $360.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $493.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $513.00 to $561.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $496.44.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

NYSE GS opened at $497.05 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $491.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $456.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.36 and a 1 year high of $517.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.36.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.52 by $0.10. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 9.36%. The company had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.60 billion. Analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.86%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total value of $5,050,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,287,748. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total value of $5,050,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,287,748. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total value of $1,770,965.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,119,949.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by 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.