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

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) shot up 1.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $470.43 and last traded at $469.28. 715,528 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 2,326,229 shares. The stock had previously closed at $462.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have 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 stock from $333.00 to $449.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $445.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. HSBC upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $349.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $440.57.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 1.6 %

The company has a market cap of $151.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $420.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $388.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $14.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.94 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 8.17%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 36.71 EPS 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a $2.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.95%.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other 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 value of $4,550,956.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total value of $5,001,372.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,947.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Treasurer Philip R. Berlinski sold 11,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the treasurer now directly owns 18,408 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,190,901.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,330 shares of company stock valued at $11,713,578. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 106.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 66 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.