The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Acquired by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,461 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $2,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 106.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 66 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $25,360,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,981,022 shares in the company, valued at $82,299,679.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total value of $5,050,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 available at this link. Also, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,981,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,299,679.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,018,500 shares of company stock worth $34,342,615. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

NYSE GS traded up $7.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $499.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,249,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,357,447. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $466.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.42. The firm has a market cap of $160.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.36 and a 52 week high of $509.48.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 42.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GS shares. Argus raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $465.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $450.00 to $478.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $360.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $484.59.

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.