The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Lifted to “Hold” at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on GS. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $464.00 to $472.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $513.00 to $561.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Seaport Res Ptn cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $496.44.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of GS stock opened at $498.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $491.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $454.28. The firm has a market cap of $160.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 1-year low of $289.36 and a 1-year high of $517.26.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.52 by $0.10. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.60 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 35.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 2.41%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.86%.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,119,949.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total value of $5,050,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,287,748. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GS. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,903,374,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,102.4% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 810,836 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $366,780,000 after purchasing an additional 743,402 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,184,196 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $842,597,000 after buying an additional 464,954 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in 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 valued at $200,959,000 after purchasing an additional 438,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 878.8% in the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 397,082 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $179,608,000 after purchasing an additional 356,512 shares during 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.