The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Stock Price Up 0.4%

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) shares shot up 0.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $502.64 and last traded at $500.86. 246,260 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 2,322,921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $499.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GS shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $490.00 to $535.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $495.94.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.7 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $474.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $434.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $162.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.52 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.60 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 10.26%. Analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 36.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 46.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total value of $1,770,965.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $6,119,949.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total value of $1,770,965.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,119,949.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total value of $25,360,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,981,022 shares in the company, valued at $82,299,679.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,013,500 shares of company stock valued at $32,181,365. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GS. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,903,374,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,120,119,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,102.4% during the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 810,836 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $366,780,000 after purchasing an additional 743,402 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,184,196 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $842,597,000 after buying an additional 464,954 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake 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 valued at $200,959,000 after buying an additional 438,754 shares in 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.