The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Stock Price Up 0.6% After Analyst Upgrade

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) traded up 0.6% during trading on Friday after HSBC raised their price target on the stock from $432.00 to $460.00. HSBC currently has a buy rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group traded as high as $419.20 and last traded at $417.69. 2,409,718 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 2,330,199 shares. The stock had previously closed at $415.25.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Wednesday. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $410.00 to $430.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $357.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $437.00 to $493.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $333.00 to $449.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $411.10.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.39, for a total transaction of $1,129,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,809,443.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.39, for a total value of $1,129,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,809,443.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,602,947.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,907 shares of company stock worth $15,080,021 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at $66,000. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,505.1% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 41,300 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $13,633,000 after purchasing an additional 38,727 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 118,609 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $39,153,000 after purchasing an additional 18,540 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 79.4% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 827 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 118.3% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 310 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $135.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $388.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $357.54.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The investment management company reported $5.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $1.86. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 7.85%. The company had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 33.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $2.75 per share. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.20%.

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.