Brokerages Set The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Price Target at $496.44

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $497.56.

Several research firms recently weighed in on GS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $360.00 to $373.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE GS opened at $486.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $492.37 and its 200 day moving average is $460.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 12 month low of $289.36 and a 12 month high of $517.26. The stock has a market cap of $156.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.36.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $12.60 billion. Research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 35.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 yield of 2.47%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,450 shares in the company, valued at $6,287,748. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total transaction of $1,770,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $6,119,949.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 12,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,287,748. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GS. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is 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.