Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Stock Price

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) had its target price reduced by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $782.00 to $659.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the investment management company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 25.90% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on GS. Citigroup lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the 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 $584.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 2.3 %

GS stock traded down $12.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $523.42. 1,054,032 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,760,762. The company has a market cap of $163.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 1-year low of $383.41 and a 1-year high of $672.19. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $614.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $566.43. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The firm had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.48 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Director Kevin R. Johnson purchased 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $619.02 per share, with a total value of $1,485,648.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,485,648. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathryn H. Ruemmler sold 7,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $634.69, for a total value of $4,758,905.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,086,042.41. This represents a 43.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,630,683 over the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 163 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 486 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 660 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Genesee Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.