The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Trading Up 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s share price was up 1.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $591.63 and last traded at $590.65. Approximately 665,901 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 2,220,484 shares. The stock had previously closed at $582.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on GS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $560.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $527.63.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $187.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $504.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $480.57.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $1.51. The firm had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.77 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 11.05% and a net margin of 9.89%. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.14 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 35.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,359,435.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth about $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.