Citigroup Cuts The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Price Target to $550.00

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) had its price target lowered by Citigroup from $585.00 to $550.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the investment management company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. HSBC lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $569.00 to $608.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $782.00 to $659.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $593.27.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $573.37 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $610.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $570.63. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 12-month low of $387.12 and a 12-month high of $672.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The stock has a market cap of $178.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued 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 company had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 29.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin R. Johnson acquired 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $619.02 per share, for a total transaction of $1,485,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,485,648. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kathryn H. Ruemmler sold 7,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,925 shares of company stock worth $12,630,683 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,603,315,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth about $944,334,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $624,844,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 14,007.0% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,059,716 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $606,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,204 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 214.1% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,294,084 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $741,018,000 after purchasing an additional 882,099 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.