Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,482 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 181 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,911 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $4,891,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $229,000. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. now owns 3,446 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,439,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 184.0% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 284 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beech Hill Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.9% in the second quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. now owns 1,710 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,210,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of GS opened at $751.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $227.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.42. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $825.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $766.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $676.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

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

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be paid a $4.00 dividend. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 32.50%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.51, for a total transaction of $6,754,590.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 106,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,755,196.68. This trade represents a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $854.00 to $828.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $843.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $779.50.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company 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.