The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Trading Up 0.8% – What’s Next?

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s share price was up 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $530.78 and last traded at $528.49. Approximately 343,437 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 2,190,036 shares. The stock had previously closed at $524.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on GS. UBS Group increased their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Evercore ISI raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $524.69.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $164.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $502.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $476.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07.

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

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 35.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total value of $1,061,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,359,435.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GS. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 6,300.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

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.