The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Hits New 1-Year High - What's Next?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $686.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $736.00 to $782.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $593.56.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 2.6 %

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 firm has a market cap of $195.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $610.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $556.55.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.48 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current 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 given 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 1.92%. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.59%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 117,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at $72,015,903.53. This represents a 5.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 1,545 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $624.67, for a total transaction of $965,115.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 8,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,117,296.64. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,475 shares of company stock valued at $19,692,543 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 650 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 94.5% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 265,361 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $151,951,000 after purchasing an additional 128,925 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,726 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,706,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,691,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.