9,522 Shares in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Purchased by Meeder Advisory Services Inc.

Key Points

• Meeder Advisory Services acquired 9,522 Goldman Sachs shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $9.63 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.21% of GS stock.
• Goldman Sachs reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $20.98 and revenue of $20.34 billion, up 39.4% year over year and well above analyst estimates.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $1,062.86, while Goldman raised its quarterly dividend from $4.50 to $5.00 per share.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,522 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $9,630,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,014,431 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $25,503,685,000 after buying an additional 418,820 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $24,172,123,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,564,783 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $17,197,444,000 after acquiring an additional 394,198 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,771,556 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $5,952,199,000 after purchasing an additional 110,134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,726,721 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $5,896,795,000 after purchasing an additional 45,266 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting The Goldman Sachs Group

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 Analysts Forecast Growth

GS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,048.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $891.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. CICC Research raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $825.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Dbs Bank lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $890.00 to $1,050.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $1,299.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,062.86.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $1,041.35 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $718.58 and a one year high of $1,153.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business's fifty day moving average price is $1,053.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $964.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.30.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The investment management company reported $20.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.91 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 39.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 68.89 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

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

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