The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Hits New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $612.75 and last traded at $607.50, with a volume of 381509 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $605.92.

The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The firm had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.48 earnings per share.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GS. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $589.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total value of $3,826,245.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,358,685.04. This represents a 10.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,550 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $610.91, for a total transaction of $4,001,460.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 117,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,015,903.53. The trade was a 5.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,940 shares of company stock valued at $12,656,179 in the last ninety days. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 30,068.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,500,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,713,325,000 after purchasing an additional 7,475,140 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,042,640 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,991,772,000 after purchasing an additional 161,133 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,898,637 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,435,144,000 after buying an additional 521,054 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,780,338 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,257,602,000 after buying an additional 77,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,707,632 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $845,466,000 after buying an additional 18,541 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 1.0 %

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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $585.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $528.13. The company has a market capitalization of $192.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.38.

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.