The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Trading Up 1.5% – Time to Buy?

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s share price was up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $591.63 and last traded at $590.65. Approximately 665,901 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 2,220,484 shares. The stock had previously closed at $582.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GS shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $472.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $560.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $527.63.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 2.1 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $504.77 and its 200-day moving average is $480.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $187.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.35.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.05%. The company had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.14 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total transaction of $1,061,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,359,435.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,863 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $5,874,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 712 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $17,540,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 108.6% during the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 6,297 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,118,000 after purchasing an additional 3,279 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

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.