The Dividend Daily

Investment management firm Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) was the top merger and acquisition (M&A) advisor in 2012, earning the title for the tenth straight year.

Goldman Sachs grabbed the title by earning $1.77 billion in fees related to M&A last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Despite the impressive figures, overall M&A activity was down 8.7% to $2.2 trillion in 2012. The ongoing concerns in Europe as well as the fiscal uncertainty in the United States dragged down some potential M&A moves.

Following Goldman Sachs as top M&A advisors were Morgan Stanley (MS) with $1.44 billion in fees, JP Morgan (JPM) at $1.31 billion, Credit Suisse at $1.03 billion, and Deutsche Bank (DB) at $950 million.

Goldman Sachs shares were down $2.27, or -1.54%, during Friday morning trading. The stock is up +22.76% over the past twelve months.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Goldman Sachs Group (GS) have a dividend yield of 1.36% based on Friday’s intraday trading price of $147.27 and the company’s annualized dividend payout of $2.00 per share.

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.