The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• The Goldman Sachs Group has received an average rating of "Hold" from eighteen brokerages, with one sell rating, eleven hold ratings, five buy ratings, and one strong buy rating.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $4.00, up from $3.00, representing a yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 35.26%.
• GS reported earnings of $10.91 per share for its last quarter, exceeding expectations, and achieved a 14.5% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the same period last year.

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $660.00.

GS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and set a $627.00 price target (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Hsbc Global Res cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $785.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $237.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.41. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 1 year low of $439.38 and a 1 year high of $793.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $727.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $630.35.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $4.00 dividend. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.31, for a total value of $4,706,944.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,876,426.56. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total value of $6,934,016.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 115,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $86,463,679.48. The trade was a 7.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,323 shares of company stock valued at $28,111,828 in the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 28.6% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 524,296 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $286,418,000 after buying an additional 116,535 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $321,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 161.8% during the first quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 41.5% during the first quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 49,800 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $27,205,000 after buying an additional 14,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,643,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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