Cornerstone Advisors LLC Makes New $22.22 Million Investment in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. $GS

Cornerstone Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 21,969 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,219,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GS. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 287.5% in the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 31 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories 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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on GS shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $1,299.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,150.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $870.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. CICC Research upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $825.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $970.00 to $940.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,062.86.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 3.9%

GS opened at $1,041.35 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $303.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,053.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $964.40. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $718.58 and a fifty-two week high of $1,153.99.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The investment management company reported $20.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.47 by $6.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 19.16%. The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 68.89 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $5.00 per share. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $20.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 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.