Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 20.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,312 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,304 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $85,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. King Wealth Management Group increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,086 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 2,020 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,877 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,211,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 777 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 2,330 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total value of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,176,283.79. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total value of $6,934,016.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 115,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,463,679.48. This trade represents a 7.42% 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 owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GS. Zacks Research downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $665.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:GS opened at $804.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $243.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.38 and a 52-week high of $807.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $736.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $636.45.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.62 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

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.