Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Stock Price

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) had its price objective lifted by Morgan Stanley from $570.00 to $592.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the investment management company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $660.00 to $594.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Daiwa America cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $595.67.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS stock opened at $669.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The Goldman Sachs Group has a one year low of $437.37 and a one year high of $672.19. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $591.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $585.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.57 by $1.55. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.86% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The business had revenue of $15.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $11.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, Director John B. Hess purchased 3,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,997,598.72. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,997,598.72. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.