The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Upgraded by Wolfe Research to “Hold”

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

GS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $464.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $493.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $496.44.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 1.1 %

GS opened at $498.28 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 52 week low of $289.36 and a 52 week high of $517.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $491.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $454.28. The firm has a market cap of $160.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.60 billion. On average, research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 35.5 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is presently 46.86%.

Insider Activity

In other The Goldman Sachs Group 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total value of $5,050,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,450 shares in the company, valued at $6,287,748. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the company’s 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 owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,119,949.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 697 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 38,249 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $14,755,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 3,142 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,212,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $505,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 10,679 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $4,153,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. 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.