Kovack Advisors Inc. Boosts Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,355 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GS. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Cambridge Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 82.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 91 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 88.0% during the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 94 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 527.3% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 138 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock traded up $7.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $427.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,322,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,404,007. The company’s 50 day moving average is $400.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $370.11. The stock has a market cap of $138.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.36 and a fifty-two week high of $428.53.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.54 by $3.04. The business had revenue of $14.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.94 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 8.65%. The business’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.79 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.39 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.95%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total value of $5,001,372.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,947.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total value of $5,001,372.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,947.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total transaction of $4,550,956.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 18,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,190,901.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $445.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $450.00 to $478.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $349.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $434.93.

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.