The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Trading Up 0.4% on Analyst Upgrade

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) traded up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $485.00 to $585.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group traded as high as $601.86 and last traded at $598.48. 327,000 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 2,213,441 shares. The stock had previously closed at $596.11.

GS has been the topic of several other reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $614.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $555.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $565.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 10,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,359,435.50. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $594.51, for a total transaction of $1,768,072.74. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,489 shares in the company, valued at $5,046,795.39. This trade represents a 25.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,390 shares of company stock valued at $6,656,119 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during 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 worth approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $527.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $492.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.21%.

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.