The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Bought by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group increased its Goldman Sachs stake by 3.4% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 48,529 shares valued at approximately $43.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.21% of GS shares.
• Goldman Sachs reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $17.01 exceeding estimates of $12.86 and revenue rising 23% year over year to $18.68 billion. Equities revenue also jumped 72% year over year to $6.44 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: GS has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,052.48, while recent firms both upgraded the stock and lowered price targets. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $5.00, equivalent to a 2.3% annualized yield.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,529 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,605 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $43,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orange County Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $69,537,544,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,172,123,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,756,772,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,560,028,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,024,921,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital set a $1,050.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,325.00 to $1,175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,145.00 price target on The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,150.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,220.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,052.48.

Trending Headlines about The Goldman Sachs Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Broker upgraded GS from “Hold” to “Buy” and set a $1,100 price target, implying approximately 25.6% upside from the referenced share price. However, the target was reduced from $1,200, which somewhat tempers the bullish signal. Freedom Broker upgrades Goldman Sachs to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reported particularly strong equities performance in the third quarter, with net revenue rising 72% year over year to $6.44 billion. Robust client activity, financing demand and derivatives contributed to the result, supporting optimism about earnings momentum. Goldman Sachs equities revenue growth
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Goldman Sachs to a Rank #2 (“Buy”), citing improving expectations for the company’s earnings prospects. Zacks upgrades Goldman Sachs to Buy

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $876.07 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $959.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $990.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.29. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $754.00 and a 1-year high of $1,153.99.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 13th. The investment management company reported $17.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.86 by $4.15. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.55%. The business had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $12.25 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 70.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be paid a $5.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 2nd. This represents a $20.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is currently 28.76%.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, asset management and wealth management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individual investors. Its investment banking activities include advising on mergers and acquisitions, public and private offerings, restructurings and other strategic transactions.

Through its global markets businesses, Goldman Sachs helps clients buy and sell securities and other financial instruments and provides financing, risk management and market-making services.

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