The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS Shares Purchased by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its Goldman Sachs stake by 7.3% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 17,221 shares valued at approximately $15.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.21% of GS.
• Goldman Sachs reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $17.01 per share versus the $12.86 consensus estimate and revenue of $18.68 billion, up 23% year over year. Equities revenue surged 72% to $6.44 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $1,052.48, despite recent upgrades from Freedom Broker and Zacks. Goldman also announced a quarterly dividend of $5 per share, representing a 2.3% annualized yield.

Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,221 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $15,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth approximately $53,720,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 14.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,422 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $17,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,230 shares during the period. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 148.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,529 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $3,569,000 after buying an additional 2,110 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 110,233 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $111,487,000 after buying an additional 3,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liontrust Investment Partners LLP lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,007.5% in the 1st quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP now owns 9,602 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $8,123,000 after buying an additional 8,735 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key The Goldman Sachs Group News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $995.00 to $1,007.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,052.48.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $876.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $255.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $959.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $990.65. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $754.00 and a 52 week high of $1,153.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.10.

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

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be given a $5.00 dividend. This represents a $20.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 2nd. 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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