Morgan Stanley Lowers The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Price Target to $659.00

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $782.00 to $659.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the investment management company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 21.52% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. HSBC downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $569.00 to $608.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on 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. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $594.27.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock opened at $542.31 on Thursday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $612.79 and its 200-day moving average is $566.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 1 year low of $383.41 and a 1 year high of $672.19.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The company had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.48 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kevin R. Johnson purchased 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $619.02 per share, with a total value of $1,485,648.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,485,648. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.74, for a total transaction of $2,317,733.60. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now directly owns 4,552 shares in the company, valued at $2,898,440.48. This trade represents a 44.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,630,683 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GS. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

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.