The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Stock Price Up 0.6% After Analyst Upgrade

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) shares traded up 0.6% on Friday after HSBC raised their price target on the stock from $432.00 to $460.00. HSBC currently has a buy rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group traded as high as $419.20 and last traded at $417.69. 2,409,718 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 2,330,199 shares. The stock had previously closed at $415.25.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on GS. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $357.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $410.00 to $430.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $437.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $411.10.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 4,300 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.15, for a total transaction of $1,634,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,357,659.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total value of $5,001,372.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,602,947.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 4,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.15, for a total transaction of $1,634,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,357,659.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,907 shares of company stock valued at $15,080,021 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WNY Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 1,627 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 662 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,435 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 414 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. The business’s 50-day moving average is $388.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $357.54. The company has a market capitalization of $135.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.42.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The investment management company reported $5.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $1.86. The business had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 8.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 33.13 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a $2.75 dividend. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.20%.

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.