The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Shares Down 1.3% - Time to Sell?

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 1.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $584.72 and last traded at $586.04. Approximately 309,732 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 2,217,702 shares. The stock had previously closed at $593.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GS shares. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $472.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $535.75.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $518.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $489.21. The stock has a market cap of $183.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.35. 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 Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 9.89%. The firm had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.47 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 37.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total transaction of $1,061,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,359,435.50. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $594.51, for a total value of $1,768,072.74. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,489 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,046,795.39. This trade represents a 25.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,390 shares of company stock valued at $6,656,119 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 6,300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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