Ascent Group LLC Purchases 375 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 34.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,477 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 375 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $668,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,267 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,040,000. Scientech Research LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,435,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,780,338 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,257,602,000 after purchasing an additional 77,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GS opened at $495.11 on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.36 and a 52-week high of $517.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $492.41 and a 200 day moving average of $459.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

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

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 46.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $496.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,287,748. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,119,949.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total transaction of $5,050,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,287,748. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.