Analysts Set The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Target Price at $440.57

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $440.57.

Several analysts recently issued reports on GS shares. JMP Securities upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $349.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Edward Jones started coverage on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $410.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of GS stock opened at $450.30 on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 12-month low of $289.36 and a 12-month high of $471.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $444.55 and a 200-day moving average of $406.62. The company has a market capitalization of $145.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.39.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.54 by $3.04. The company had revenue of $14.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.94 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 8.17%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 36.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.75 per share. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 42.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total transaction of $25,360,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,981,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,299,679.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.25, for a total transaction of $2,161,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 623,425 shares in the company, valued at $269,475,456.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 4,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.34, for a total transaction of $25,360,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,981,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,299,679.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $653,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,866 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% during the first quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,838 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.1% in the first quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $944,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.4% in the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.