Great Lakes Advisors LLC Acquires 6,518 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 176,704 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,518 shares during the quarter. The Goldman Sachs Group comprises approximately 1.4% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $178,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,172,123,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at $2,515,830,000. Orange County Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth $69,537,544,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth $2,560,028,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,657.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,596,487 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,282,312,000 after acquiring an additional 2,448,767 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting The Goldman Sachs Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs was among the financial giants receiving a “Buy” growth grade, reinforcing the view that its earnings growth, capital-markets franchise and strategic positioning remain attractive. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs lead as most financial giants earn Buy growth grades
• Positive Sentiment: The firm is reportedly expanding into India’s government share-sale market. Greater participation in equity offerings could create additional investment-banking revenue and deepen Goldman’s presence in a fast-growing market. Goldman Sachs expands into India’s government share sale market
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman agreed to pay up to $2.25 billion for NEOS Investments, the issuer of high-income ETFs. The acquisition supports Goldman’s asset-management and wealth-products strategy, although investors will monitor the price paid and integration execution. Goldman Sachs acquisition of NEOS Investments
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman research said gold could exceed its $4,900 year-end forecast amid options demand, Western investor buying and central-bank purchases. The call may benefit the firm’s commodities and trading franchise, but changing interest-rate expectations could increase market volatility and forecasting risk. Gold could top Goldman’s forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman strategists described July as one of the sharpest hedge-fund de-grossing episodes of the past decade, with hedge funds posting an unusually weak month relative to the S&P 500. Continued de-risking could pressure trading activity and investment-banking sentiment across Wall Street. Goldman Sachs hedge funds worst month versus S&P 500

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GS. Wall Street Zen cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,070.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $891.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,120.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,062.86.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $1,041.35 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,053.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $964.40. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $718.58 and a twelve month high of $1,153.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The investment management company reported $20.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.47 by $6.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 19.16% and a net margin of 15.53%.The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $10.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 68.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $5.00 dividend. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.50. This represents a $20.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 27.78%.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a global investment banking and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1869 as a commercial paper business, the company has grown into a diversified financial institution that provides a broad range of services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. The firm is led by Chief Executive Officer David M. Solomon and operates across major financial centers worldwide.

Goldman Sachs’ core businesses include investment banking, global markets, asset and wealth management, and consumer banking.