The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on GS. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price target on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $771.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $665.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS stock opened at $794.19 on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $798.57. The company has a market capitalization of $240.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $734.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $635.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.82 by $1.09. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 14.32%. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total transaction of $4,310,079.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.51, for a total transaction of $6,754,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 106,268 shares in the company, valued at $79,755,196.68. This trade represents a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,323 shares of company stock worth $28,111,828. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,800.0% during the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 38 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Graney & King LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 51.5% during the 2nd quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 50 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 71.21% of the stock is currently 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.