The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Hsbc Global Res

Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. HSBC downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $569.00 to $608.00 in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $555.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.63.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $605.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $534.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $496.57. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 12 month low of $334.87 and a 12 month high of $611.30. The company has a market capitalization of $189.98 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.47 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 37.15 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total value of $1,061,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $594.51, for a total value of $1,768,072.74. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,489 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,390 shares of company stock valued at $6,656,119. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% in the second 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 period. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by 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.