Advisor Resource Council Makes New Investment in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 532 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 63,864.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,976,684 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,172,423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,970,467 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,603,315,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth about $944,334,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $624,844,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 14,007.0% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,059,716 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $606,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,204 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $560.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $595.67.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of GS traded up $7.76 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $669.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,566,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,375,652. The company has a market capitalization of $205.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $591.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $585.75. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $437.37 and a 1-year high of $672.19.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $12.57 by $1.55. The firm had revenue of $15.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.99 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.86% and a return on equity of 13.76%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $11.58 earnings per share. Analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Director John B. Hess bought 3,904 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.68 per share, with a total value of $1,997,598.72. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,997,598.72. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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.