Wharton Business Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Wharton Business Group LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 16.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,412 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,635 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group makes up 1.5% of Wharton Business Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Wharton Business Group LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $33,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% during the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GS traded down $5.55 on Monday, hitting $587.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,844,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,224,586. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $334.55 and a 12-month high of $607.15. The company has a market capitalization of $184.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $518.10 and a 200-day moving average of $489.21.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.47 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.15 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total transaction of $1,061,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,359,435.50. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total transaction of $3,826,245.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,614 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,358,685.04. This trade represents a 10.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,390 shares of company stock valued at $6,656,119 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on GS shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $614.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $560.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $535.75.

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.