The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) CAO Sheara J. Fredman Sells 2,034 Shares

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total transaction of $1,275,338.34. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at $4,047,349.55. The trade was a 23.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GS opened at $638.68 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $374.24 and a 12 month high of $645.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $589.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $533.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The company had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.48 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 46.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GS. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $736.00 to $782.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 110.0% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 63 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the third quarter valued at $37,000. 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.