The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Trading 0.7% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) shares traded up 0.7% during trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $450.00 to $504.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group traded as high as $447.42 and last traded at $446.92. 476,182 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 2,348,587 shares. The stock had previously closed at $443.67.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $410.00 to $430.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Edward Jones started coverage on The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. HSBC upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $440.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total value of $4,550,956.00. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 18,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,190,901.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.64, for a total transaction of $4,550,956.00. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 18,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,190,901.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.25, for a total value of $2,161,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 623,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $269,475,456.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,330 shares of company stock valued at $11,713,578 over the last 90 days. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GS. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,632 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,352,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 880 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.3% in the first quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 1,759 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 123,024 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $51,391,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.0 %

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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $406.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $377.23. The company has a market capitalization of $144.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.40.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.54 by $3.04. The business 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 Goldman Sachs Group's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.79 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 36.07 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is 42.95%.

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.