The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Trading 0.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s share price rose 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $601.53 and last traded at $594.52. Approximately 395,469 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 2,221,311 shares. The stock had previously closed at $594.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $565.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $560.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Five equities research 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.com, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $527.63.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $513.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $486.51. The company has a market cap of $184.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.35.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $1.51. The business had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.77 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 9.89%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.15 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 35.21%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total transaction of $3,826,245.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,358,685.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total transaction of $3,826,245.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,358,685.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $594.51, for a total transaction of $1,768,072.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,046,795.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,390 shares of company stock worth $6,656,119. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.