The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Price Target Raised to $677.00

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) had its price target increased by HSBC from $652.00 to $677.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $725.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $706.00 to $854.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $785.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $717.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $790.32 on Thursday. 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 $825.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $755.05 and its 200 day moving average is $655.73. The company has a market cap of $239.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.42.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a $4.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 35.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total value of $5,406,197.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares in the company, valued at $13,469,493.60. The trade was a 28.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total transaction of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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. Insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828 over the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GS. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth about $240,000. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 73.4% during the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 3,116 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Group Inc. lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 513 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. 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.