The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Trading Up 0.9%

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) shot up 0.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $408.90 and last traded at $408.65. 290,336 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 2,320,946 shares. The stock had previously closed at $404.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on GS. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $506.00 to $446.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $333.00 to $449.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $357.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $421.00 to $424.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $411.10.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $134.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $387.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $357.13.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The investment management company reported $5.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $1.86. The firm had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 33.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be paid a $2.75 dividend. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.20%.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.39, for a total transaction of $1,129,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,809,443.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total transaction of $5,001,372.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,602,947.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.39, for a total value of $1,129,170.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,121 shares in the company, valued at $3,809,443.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,907 shares of company stock valued at $15,080,021. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,505.1% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 41,300 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $13,633,000 after purchasing an additional 38,727 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 18.5% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 118,609 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $39,153,000 after purchasing an additional 18,540 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 79.4% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 827 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 118.3% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 310 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.