The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Insider Buying Activity

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading 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 trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $625.94.

Specifically, Director Kevin R. Johnson acquired 2,400 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $619.02 per share, with a total value of $1,485,648.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,485,648. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $569.00 to $608.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised 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. JMP Securities increased their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.06.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Up 0.9 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $589.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $533.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.38. 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 Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.21 by $3.74. The firm had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 46.81 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 29.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth $669,000. GFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth about $420,000. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 29,237 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,373 shares during the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 35.5% during the 4th quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 645 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 66.4% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 282,900 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $161,994,000 after purchasing an additional 112,935 shares during 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.