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

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $524.69.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 10,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,359,435.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter valued at $66,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth $211,000. Mcdonald Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 11.3% in the first quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 3,692 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. CFM Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 3,069 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,282,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:GS opened at $517.87 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 1-year low of $289.36 and a 1-year high of $540.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $498.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $470.64.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $1.51. The business had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 35.52 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 46.86%.

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.