The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Time to Sell?

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) dropped 0.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $575.51 and last traded at $583.61. Approximately 453,862 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 2,216,738 shares. The stock had previously closed at $587.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GS shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $614.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $535.75.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $182.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $491.95.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $1.51. The business had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.47 EPS. Analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,046,795.39. The trade was a 25.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total value of $1,061,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,095 shares in the company, valued at $5,359,435.50. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,390 shares of company stock worth $6,656,119. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 6,300.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

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.