The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Sets New 52-Week High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $612.75 and last traded at $607.50, with a volume of 381509 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $605.92.

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

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. HSBC downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $569.00 to $608.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $589.19.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 10.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $594.51, for a total value of $1,768,072.74. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,046,795.39. This represents a 25.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,940 shares of company stock worth $12,656,179. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 30,068.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,500,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,713,325,000 after purchasing an additional 7,475,140 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,042,640 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,991,772,000 after buying an additional 161,133 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,898,637 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,435,144,000 after buying an additional 521,054 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,780,338 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,257,602,000 after buying an additional 77,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,707,632 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $845,466,000 after buying an additional 18,541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 1.0 %

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $585.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $528.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.38. 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 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.