The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Given New $680.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $600.00 to $680.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the investment management company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on GS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $472.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research raised The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $535.75.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock opened at $593.54 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 52-week low of $334.55 and a 52-week high of $607.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $518.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $489.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.35.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 9.89%. The business had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 37.15 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $594.51, for a total value of $1,768,072.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,046,795.39. This trade represents a 25.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total value of $3,826,245.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,358,685.04. The trade was a 10.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,390 shares of company stock worth $6,656,119. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $536,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 27,271 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $13,502,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 27.4% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 288 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 93.6% during the third quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 4,259 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,109,000 after buying an additional 2,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EWA LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 485 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.