The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Trading 0.2% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) shares were up 0.2% during trading on Thursday after HSBC raised their price target on the stock from $432.00 to $460.00. HSBC currently has a buy rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group traded as high as $419.20 and last traded at $416.13. Approximately 585,811 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 2,310,853 shares. The stock had previously closed at $415.25.

GS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $382.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $437.00 to $493.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $357.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $421.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $411.10.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total transaction of $5,001,372.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,602,947.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total transaction of $4,550,956.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now owns 18,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,190,901.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total transaction of $5,001,372.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,417 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,947.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,907 shares of company stock valued at $15,080,021 over the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WNY Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 1,627 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 662 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,435 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 414 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.2 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $387.82 and its 200-day moving average is $357.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $135.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.42.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The investment management company reported $5.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $1.86. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 8.03%. The firm had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 33.13 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be given a $2.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.20%.

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.