Hixon Zuercher LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Hixon Zuercher LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,830 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up about 2.2% of Hixon Zuercher LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Hixon Zuercher LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $6,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 46.9% during the 1st 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 raised 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 4.4%

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $784.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $237.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $767.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $680.36. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.38 and a 1 year high of $825.25.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The investment management company reported $12.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.27 by $1.98. The firm had revenue of $11.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.68 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 13.18%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.50%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 106,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,755,196.68. This represents a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $652.00 to $677.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $850.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $779.50.

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.