The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Earnings Beat

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 1,621,548 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 16% from the previous session’s volume of 1,921,083 shares.The stock last traded at $605.31 and had previously closed at $571.53.

The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GS shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $570.00 to $686.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $560.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $610.91, for a total transaction of $4,001,460.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 117,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,015,903.53. This represents a 5.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 57,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,358,685.04. This trade represents a 10.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,940 shares of company stock worth $12,656,179 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,642 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 850 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at $340,000. Smith Salley Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 154 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 6.0 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $585.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $527.58. 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 company has a market cap of $190.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.38.

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.