The Goldman Sachs Group Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:GS)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 129,365 call options on the company. Thisisanincreaseof367% compared to the typical daily volume of 27,696 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $650.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $750.99 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $714.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $623.49. The company has a market capitalization of $227.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $753.33.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%.The Goldman Sachs Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.62 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $4.00 dividend. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total value of $4,706,944.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 126,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,876,426.56. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total value of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,079 shares of company stock valued at $14,423,221. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,800.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 38 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

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.