The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $786.00.

GS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $756.00 to $810.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $785.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $685.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $850.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 1.5%

GS opened at $802.75 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $786.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $722.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 12 month low of $439.38 and a 12 month high of $841.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.41.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The investment management company reported $12.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.27 by $1.98. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 13.18%.The business had revenue of $15.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $750.51, for a total value of $6,754,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 106,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,755,196.68. This represents a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GS. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC now owns 388 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 612 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 385 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 863 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.