Baron Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 632 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 138 shares during the quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth about $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% in the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% in the first quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 0.1%

GS opened at $786.09 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.38 and a 1-year high of $793.17. The company has a market capitalization of $237.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $732.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $633.97.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 14.32%. The business had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $4.00 dividend. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GS. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $665.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total value of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,176,283.79. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total transaction of $4,706,944.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828. 0.55% of the stock is currently 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.