The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Sets New 12-Month High Following Insider Buying Activity

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $635.43 and last traded at $634.74, with a volume of 5070681 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $625.94.

Specifically, Director Kevin R. Johnson bought 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $619.02 per share, with a total value of $1,485,648.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,485,648. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on GS shares. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $736.00 to $782.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $569.00 to $608.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $686.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.06.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 1.4 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $587.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $531.85. The stock has a market cap of $199.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The company had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 45.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 896 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 243 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 449 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 3,167 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,568,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

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.