The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Acquired by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,619 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,055 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $20,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GS. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 106.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 66 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on GS shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $490.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $493.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.44.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total transaction of $5,050,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,287,748. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total value of $1,770,965.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,119,949.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total value of $5,050,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,287,748. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 0.1 %

GS opened at $484.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.36 and a 12 month high of $517.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $491.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $453.20. The stock has a market cap of $156.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.52 by $0.10. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.60 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.5 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 Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.86%.

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.