The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $437.04.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $349.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $410.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $438.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $404.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $374.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.40. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 52 week low of $289.36 and a 52 week high of $442.30.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.54 by $3.04. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 8.17%. The business had revenue of $14.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 36.07 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.75 per share. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.25, for a total transaction of $2,161,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 623,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,475,456.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.25, for a total transaction of $2,161,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 623,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $269,475,456.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total transaction of $4,550,956.00. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 18,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,190,901.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,330 shares of company stock valued at $11,713,578. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 106.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 66 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 82.0% in the third quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 91 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 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.