Brokerages Set The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) PT at $593.40

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $593.40.

GS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Daiwa America cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $558.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, April 4th.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GS traded up $1.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $567.11. 1,522,482 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,371,072. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $535.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $575.98. The company has a market capitalization of $174.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.32. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 52-week low of $437.37 and a 52-week high of $672.19. 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 Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.57 by $1.55. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $15.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $11.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is 27.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John B. Hess acquired 3,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,997,598.72. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,997,598.72. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GS. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 63,864.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,976,684 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,172,423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,970,467 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter worth $1,766,238,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,603,315,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at $944,334,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $624,844,000. Hedge funds and other 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.