The Goldman Sachs Group’s (GS) “Sector Perform” Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their sector perform rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $500.00 price target on the investment management company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $450.00 to $478.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $490.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $360.00 to $373.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $495.94.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS opened at $470.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $469.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $428.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The company has a market capitalization of $151.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.37. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 52-week low of $289.36 and a 52-week high of $517.26.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 42.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total value of $25,360,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,981,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,299,679.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total transaction of $25,360,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,981,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,299,679.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total value of $1,770,965.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,119,949.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,013,500 shares of company stock worth $32,181,365. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.8% during the second quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,727 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,019 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $913,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,866 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.