The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Stock Price Up 4.1% - Should You Buy?

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) was up 4.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $551.79 and last traded at $541.27. Approximately 1,392,908 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 2,366,580 shares. The stock had previously closed at $519.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GS shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JMP Securities cut their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $600.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $560.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered 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 research report on Friday, April 4th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $593.40.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 0.1 %

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $548.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $573.46. 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 stock has a market cap of $170.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.33.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $12.57 by $1.55. The company had revenue of $15.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.99 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $11.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.85%.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, insider Alex S. Golten sold 5,208 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.25, for a total transaction of $3,313,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,255,506.25. The trade was a 59.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John B. Hess bought 3,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $511.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,997,598.72. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,997,598.72. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.8% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,296 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $708,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Heritage Investment Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 48.2% in the first quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 1,538 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.9% during the first quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 9,750 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $5,326,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 564.2% during the 1st quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 2,411 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 2,048 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.21% of the company's stock.

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.