The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Trading 0.7% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) shares shot up 0.7% on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $450.00 to $504.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group traded as high as $447.42 and last traded at $446.92. 476,182 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 2,348,587 shares. The stock had previously closed at $443.67.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $445.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of 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. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $440.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total value of $4,550,956.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 18,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,190,901.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.25, for a total value of $2,161,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 623,425 shares in the company, valued at $269,475,456.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 18,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,190,901.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,330 shares of company stock valued at $11,713,578 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.57% 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. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 13,462 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $4,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,812 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its position in 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 81,021 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6.8% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.7% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 9,729 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,148,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.0 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $406.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $377.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $14.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 36.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 42.95%.

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.