The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Price Target Raised to $782.00

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $736.00 to $782.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the investment management company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. HSBC downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $569.00 to $608.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $589.19.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of GS opened at $626.84 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $587.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $529.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.38. The Goldman Sachs Group has a twelve month low of $372.07 and a twelve month high of $627.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 9.89%. The company had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.48 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 37.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $594.51, for a total value of $1,768,072.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total transaction of $3,826,245.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,614 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,940 shares of company stock valued at $12,656,179. Corporate 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 bought and sold shares of the company. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings 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. West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter worth about $30,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 110.0% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 63 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.