The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Trading 0.2% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) were up 0.2% on Thursday 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 $416.13. Approximately 585,811 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 2,310,853 shares. The stock had previously closed at $415.25.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on GS. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $382.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $437.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $506.00 to $446.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $410.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $357.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $411.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the company’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 value of $5,001,372.40. Following 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.39, for a total transaction of $1,129,170.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,121 shares in the company, valued at $3,809,443.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,907 shares of company stock worth $15,080,021 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Cambridge Trust Co. raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 82.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 91 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 88.0% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 94 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $135.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $387.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $357.13. 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 Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The investment management company reported $5.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $1.86. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 8.03%. The company had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 33.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be given a dividend of $2.75 per share. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.20%.

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.