The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Shares Up 0.8%

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) traded up 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $413.30 and last traded at $409.38. 612,808 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 2,310,345 shares. The stock had previously closed at $406.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $506.00 to $446.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $432.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upped 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 report on Tuesday, January 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $437.00 to $493.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $421.00 to $424.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $411.10.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $388.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $357.54. 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 firm has a market cap of $135.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.42.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.32 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 33.13 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,809,443.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.39, for a total value of $1,129,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,809,443.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 4,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.15, for a total value 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,907 shares of company stock worth $15,080,021. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WNY Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.6% in the 4th 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 during the period. Albert D Mason Inc. raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.3% in the 4th 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 raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.4% in the 4th 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 raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% in the 4th 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 raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.5% in the 4th 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 and hedge funds 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.