The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Trading 0.7% Higher – Still a Buy?

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) shares shot up 0.7% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $612.73 and last traded at $609.49. 297,224 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 2,213,561 shares. The stock had previously closed at $605.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $565.00 to $588.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $560.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $555.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.63.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 1.1 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $538.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $498.08. The company has a market capitalization of $192.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

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

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 owns 8,489 shares in the company, valued at $5,046,795.39. This represents a 25.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 owns 57,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,358,685.04. The trade was a 10.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,390 shares of company stock valued at $6,656,119 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6,300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in 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.