The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Stock Price Up 0.3% – Here’s Why

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s stock price rose 0.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $612.25 and last traded at $607.36. Approximately 440,216 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 2,217,522 shares. The stock had previously closed at $605.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Hsbc Global Res cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $565.00 to $588.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.63.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $534.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $496.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.15 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total value of $3,826,245.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,358,685.04. This represents a 10.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total transaction of $1,061,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,359,435.50. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,390 shares of company stock worth $6,656,119. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

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.