The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Short Interest Update

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,610,000 shares, a drop of 9.2% from the May 15th total of 6,180,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 1.6 %

The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded up $7.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $457.43. 1,798,377 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,889,397. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $440.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $405.19. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 52 week low of $289.36 and a 52 week high of $471.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.50 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.54 by $3.04. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 8.86%. The business had revenue of $14.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.79 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 36.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a $2.75 dividend. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 42.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $445.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Edward Jones began coverage on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $424.00 to $433.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $465.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $440.57.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total transaction of $25,360,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,981,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,299,679.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total transaction of $25,360,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,981,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,299,679.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.25, for a total transaction of $2,161,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 623,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $269,475,456.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GS. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 28.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,232 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,136,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 23.2% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 452,860 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $146,532,000 after purchasing an additional 85,247 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 78.5% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 133,821 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $43,579,000 after purchasing an additional 58,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 77.9% in the third quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,782 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. 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.