Insider Selling: The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Director Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $612.08, for a total value of $3,060,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 608,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $372,404,774. This trade represents a 0.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $601.94. 1,366,221 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,210,000. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $188.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.38. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $340.54 and a twelve month high of $612.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $540.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $499.68.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 9.89%. The firm had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.15 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GS. Barclays raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $565.00 to $588.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $570.00 to $686.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $557.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 30,068.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,500,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,713,325,000 after purchasing an additional 7,475,140 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 21.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,898,637 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,435,144,000 after acquiring an additional 521,054 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 7,932.6% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 444,285 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $200,959,000 after purchasing an additional 438,754 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 878.8% during the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 397,082 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $179,608,000 after buying an additional 356,512 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 154.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 414,867 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $205,403,000 after purchasing an additional 251,972 shares during the period. 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.