The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $667.12 and last traded at $663.57, with a volume of 273760 shares. The stock had previously closed at $660.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on GS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $686.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer reduced 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 note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $593.56.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $200.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $609.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $555.95. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $12.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.48 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

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 paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,550 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $610.91, for a total value of $4,001,460.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 117,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,015,903.53. The trade was a 5.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 3,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.74, for a total value of $2,317,733.60. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 4,552 shares in the company, valued at $2,898,440.48. The trade was a 44.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,475 shares of company stock valued at $19,692,543 in the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 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.