The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Position Boosted by Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 66.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 814 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 19.9% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,582 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,268,000 after buying an additional 761 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 62.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,301 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,632,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,388,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 34.2% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 8,256 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of GS stock opened at $526.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.36. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.36 and a 1 year high of $540.51. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $499.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $471.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $1.51. The company had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.52 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total transaction of $1,061,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,359,435.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $560.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $555.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $524.69.

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.