Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Purchases 1,465 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,973 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group accounts for about 1.1% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $18,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS opened at $790.32 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $239.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $755.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $656.38. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $825.25.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%.The business had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were given a dividend of $4.00 per share. 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 ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 35.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $785.00 to $855.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. HSBC upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $652.00 to $677.00 in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $752.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $717.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total value of $4,310,079.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the firm’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 owned 115,268 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Profile

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.