The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Stake Boosted by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 18.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,790 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GS. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 801,784 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $259,454,000 after purchasing an additional 80,674 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 19.5% in the third quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 42,099 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $13,622,000 after buying an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter valued at $441,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total value of $25,360,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,981,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,299,679.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total value of $25,360,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,981,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,299,679.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.25, for a total transaction of $2,161,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 623,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $269,475,456.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $424.00 to $433.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $486.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $450.00 to $478.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Argus raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $465.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $445.62.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $467.92 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.36 and a 12-month high of $471.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $452.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $412.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.37.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.54 by $3.04. The business had revenue of $14.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.94 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 8.86%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.79 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 36.47 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were paid a $2.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is presently 42.95%.

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.