The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Shares Down 0.5% – Time to Sell?

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) were down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $601.33 and last traded at $602.26. Approximately 375,589 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 2,209,346 shares. The stock had previously closed at $605.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GS shares. Hsbc Global Res cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group lifted 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. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $614.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $570.00 to $686.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $557.88.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

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 fifty day moving average price of $545.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $501.59. The company has a market capitalization of $189.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.38.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $1.51. The business had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 10,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,359,435.50. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $610.91, for a total transaction of $4,001,460.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 117,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,015,903.53. This trade represents a 5.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,940 shares of company stock valued at $13,717,979 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $3,713,325,000 after purchasing an additional 7,475,140 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 21.9% in 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 buying an additional 521,054 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 7,932.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 878.8% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 397,082 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $179,608,000 after acquiring an additional 356,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 154.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 414,867 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $205,403,000 after purchasing an additional 251,972 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.