Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 118 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 24.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 591 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GS opened at $565.00 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $387.12 and a 52-week high of $672.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $610.89 and a 200 day moving average of $568.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The company had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.59%.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.74, for a total transaction of $2,317,733.60. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 4,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,898,440.48. This trade represents a 44.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kevin R. Johnson bought 2,400 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $619.02 per share, for a total transaction of $1,485,648.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,485,648. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,630,683. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GS. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $782.00 to $659.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Friday, February 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $594.27.

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.