The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Trading 0.3% Higher – Should You Buy?

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) was up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $612.25 and last traded at $607.36. Approximately 440,216 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 2,217,522 shares. The stock had previously closed at $605.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JMP Securities increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $555.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.63.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $538.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $498.08. The company has a market cap of $190.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share 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 11.39%. The firm had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.15 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 Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is 35.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $594.51, for a total transaction of $1,768,072.74. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,489 shares in the company, valued at $5,046,795.39. This represents a 25.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was 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 directly owns 10,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,359,435.50. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,390 shares of company stock worth $6,656,119 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 896 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 3,167 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,568,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Krane Funds Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 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.