The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Shares Up 0.4% Following Analyst Upgrade

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) traded up 0.4% during trading on Friday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $485.00 to $585.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group traded as high as $601.86 and last traded at $598.48. 327,000 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 2,213,441 shares. The stock had previously closed at $596.11.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research raised The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $614.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.00.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total transaction of $1,061,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,359,435.50. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total value of $3,826,245.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,358,685.04. This represents a 10.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,390 shares of company stock worth $6,656,119. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 6,300.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The company has a market capitalization of $189.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $529.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $493.78.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 9.89%. The firm had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.15 EPS 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 $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 35.21%.

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.