The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $3.04 EPS

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) announced its earnings results on Monday. The investment management company reported $11.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.54 by $3.04, RTT News reports. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 8.65%. The business had revenue of $14.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

NYSE:GS opened at $396.51 on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 52 week low of $289.36 and a 52 week high of $419.20. The firm has a market cap of $128.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $395.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $365.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on GS. Bank of America increased 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 report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased 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 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 report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six investment 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $434.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total transaction of $5,001,372.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,602,947.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total transaction of $4,550,956.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 18,408 shares in the company, valued at $7,190,901.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,907 shares of company stock valued at $13,950,851. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 106.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 66 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 82.0% during the third quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 91 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.