The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Purchased by Meitav Investment House Ltd.

Meitav Investment House Ltd. boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 15.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,811 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares during the quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $8,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,800.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 38 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 46.9% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 72 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 45.9% during the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 54 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE GS opened at $796.13 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $756.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $657.99. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.38 and a 12 month high of $825.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.42.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.62 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a $4.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $785.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $750.00 to $843.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $717.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.51, for a total value of $6,754,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 106,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,755,196.68. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total transaction of $4,706,944.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 126,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.