The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) were down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $420.26 and last traded at $422.84. Approximately 476,553 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 2,377,225 shares. The stock had previously closed at $424.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on GS. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $382.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $349.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $450.00 to $478.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $424.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $333.00 to $449.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $434.93.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $397.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $368.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.43.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.54 by $3.04. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 8.17%. The firm had revenue of $14.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.79 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 35.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.75 per share. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 42.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total value of $5,001,372.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,602,947.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total transaction of $4,550,956.00. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 18,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,190,901.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total transaction of $5,001,372.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,602,947.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GS. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth approximately $1,903,374,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,120,119,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 27,076.5% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 653,322 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $211,396,000 after purchasing an additional 650,918 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,184,196 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $842,597,000 after purchasing an additional 464,954 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,693,331 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,842,192,000 after buying an additional 412,383 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.