The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $496.44.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $360.00 to $373.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $493.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the firm’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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,287,748. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $6,119,949.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS stock opened at $497.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $156.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $491.75 and its 200 day moving average is $456.98. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 52 week low of $289.36 and a 52 week high of $517.26.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 9.36%. The business had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.60 billion. Research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 35.43 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

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

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.