Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 112,909 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 263% compared to the average volume of 31,133 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Director John B. Hess purchased 3,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.68 per share, with a total value of $1,997,598.72. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,904 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,598.72. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 0.8%

The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded down $5.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $599.86. 2,129,454 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,378,031. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $550.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $582.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $12.57 by $1.55. The firm had revenue of $15.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.99 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $11.58 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GS. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $660.00 to $594.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $690.00 to $660.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $593.40.

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.