The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Stock Price Up 1.4%

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 1.4% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $442.30 and last traded at $438.58. Approximately 800,841 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 2,356,448 shares. The stock had previously closed at $432.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on GS. Morgan Stanley raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $333.00 to $449.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. HSBC increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Edward Jones began coverage on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $450.00 to $478.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $437.04.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $142.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $403.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $373.37.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.54 by $3.04. The firm had revenue of $14.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.94 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 8.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.79 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 36.07 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $2.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is presently 42.95%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.25, for a total transaction of $2,161,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 623,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $269,475,456.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total transaction of $4,550,956.00. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 18,408 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,190,901.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.25, for a total value of $2,161,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 623,425 shares in the company, valued at $269,475,456.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,330 shares of company stock worth $11,713,578 in the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 106.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 66 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co. grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 82.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 91 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 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.

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