The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $653.03 and last traded at $655.37, with a volume of 162513 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $645.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.06.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $203.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $599.07 and a 200-day moving average of $545.29.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The business had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.48 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total transaction of $1,275,338.34. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at $4,047,349.55. This trade represents a 23.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 1,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $624.67, for a total transaction of $965,115.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 8,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,117,296.64. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,475 shares of company stock valued at $19,692,543 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. West Branch Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 63 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors 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.