The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Shares Down 0.4%

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) shares were down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $488.40 and last traded at $490.13. Approximately 363,651 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 2,332,020 shares. The stock had previously closed at $491.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $461.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $450.00 to $478.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. 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 note on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $513.00 to $561.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.94.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 1.3 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $472.51 and a 200-day moving average of $433.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.12.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.52 by $0.10. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 9.36%. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.60 billion. Research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 36.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 2.41%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total transaction of $1,770,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,119,949.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,119,949.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,013,500 shares of company stock worth $32,181,365 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 166,656 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $64,291,000 after buying an additional 20,018 shares in the last quarter. HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $850,000. Apexium Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 5,672 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,188,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 62.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,301 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,632,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428 shares during the period. Finally, Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,388,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% 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.