Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Call options Activity: Traders purchased 41,248 call options for Goldman Sachs, marking a 28% increase over the usual daily volume of 32,193 options.
• Analyst Ratings: Multiple analysts have recently increased their price targets for Goldman Sachs, with the average target now set at $779.50, and three analysts rating the stock as a Buy.
• Quarterly Earnings Results: Goldman Sachs reported earnings of $12.25 per share, surpassing estimates significantly, although revenues were below expectations at $11.33 billion.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 41,248 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 28% compared to the typical daily volume of 32,193 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $762.00 to $805.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $756.00 to $810.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $843.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $785.00 to $855.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $779.50.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total transaction of $6,934,016.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 115,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,463,679.48. This trade represents a 7.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GS. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth $25,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,800.0% in the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 38 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the third quarter worth $26,000. First PREMIER Bank purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded up $28.66 on Friday, reaching $779.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,279,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,397,973. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 1 year low of $439.38 and a 1 year high of $825.25. The company has a market cap of $235.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The business's 50 day moving average is $766.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $676.63.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The investment management company reported $12.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.27 by $1.98. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The company had revenue of $11.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.40 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be issued a $4.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.50%.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

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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