Ariel Investments LLC Purchases 27,533 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Ariel Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 305.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 36,538 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,533 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $25,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 28.6% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 524,296 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $286,418,000 after purchasing an additional 116,535 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth about $239,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,379,900 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,392,124,000 after purchasing an additional 157,473 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,596,000. Finally, Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 21,534 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $15,240,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 1.1%

GS stock opened at $876.51 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $793.38 and its 200 day moving average is $738.97. The stock has a market cap of $262.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.38 and a 1-year high of $883.72.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The investment management company reported $12.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.27 by $1.98. The business had revenue of $15.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.68 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be paid a $4.00 dividend. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $785.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $854.00 to $828.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Dbs Bank increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $786.00.

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.