EP Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 37.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,765 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,055 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $14,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $24,172,123,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth $2,515,830,000. Orange County Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $69,537,544,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,560,028,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,657.7% in the 4th 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. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GS. Morgan Stanley set a $1,145.00 price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Barclays raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,048.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,150.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,062.86.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS stock opened at $1,041.35 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.30. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $718.58 and a one year high of $1,153.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,053.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $964.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The investment management company reported $20.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $16.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $10.91 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group’s quarterly revenue was up 39.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 68.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $5.00 dividend. This represents a $20.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

More The Goldman Sachs Group News

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

About The Goldman Sachs Group

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.