Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 633 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $448,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Burney Co. increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.4% during the second quarter. Burney Co. now owns 7,211 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $5,103,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,348 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $8,739,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 8,975 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $6,352,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,283.2% during the 2nd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,290 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $12,237,000 after purchasing an additional 16,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.6% during the second quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,044 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,862,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

GS stock opened at $789.50 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market cap of $239.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $773.85 and a 200-day moving average of $692.85. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.38 and a 12-month high of $825.25.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The investment management company reported $12.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.27 by $1.98. The business had revenue of $11.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.68 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 13.18%.The business’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be issued a $4.00 dividend. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 32.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $652.00 to $677.00 in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $843.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $779.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total transaction of $6,934,016.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 115,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,463,679.48. This trade represents a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

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.