The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Insider Buying Activity

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $635.43 and last traded at $634.74, with a volume of 5070681 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $625.94.

Specifically, Director Kevin R. Johnson purchased 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $619.02 per share, for a total transaction of $1,485,648.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,485,648. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GS. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $677.00 to $639.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JMP Securities increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $736.00 to $782.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.06.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $198.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $588.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $533.05.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.21 by $3.74. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The business had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.48 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 46.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 110.0% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 63 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 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.