The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Receives “Neutral” Rating from UBS Group

UBS Group reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $610.00 target price on the investment management company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on GS. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $565.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $570.00 to $686.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Eight equities 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $569.31.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $584.22 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $579.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $522.58. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 52-week low of $372.07 and a 52-week high of $612.73. The company has a market cap of $183.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.38. 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 Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 9.89%. The company had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 37.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 35.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $594.51, for a total value of $1,768,072.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,046,795.39. The trade was a 25.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 10,095 shares in the company, valued at $5,359,435.50. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,940 shares of company stock worth $13,717,979. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 6,594 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,776,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 213,605 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $122,453,000 after buying an additional 49,710 shares during the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,311 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,217 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,560,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 104.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 561 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.