The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company 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 Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GS. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective 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, January 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.06.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 1.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $203.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.39. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $598.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $544.50.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The company had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.48 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kathryn H. Ruemmler sold 7,498 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $634.69, for a total value of $4,758,905.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,086,042.41. The trade was a 43.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.25, for a total value of $3,313,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,545 shares in the company, valued at $2,255,506.25. This represents a 59.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,475 shares of company stock worth $19,692,543 over the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 163 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 486 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 660 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Genesee Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.