Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GSGet Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 149,954 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 284% compared to the average volume of 39,028 call options.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded down $71.10 on Friday, hitting $857.90. The stock had a trading volume of 5,544,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,543,159. The stock has a market cap of $257.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 52-week low of $439.38 and a 52-week high of $984.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $924.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $835.31.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GSGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $13.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $2.03. The firm had revenue of $15.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.30 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 13.73%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $11.95 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $4.50 dividend. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.00. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $18.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 31.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Argus raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $863.00 to $1,066.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Autonomous Res decreased their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,047.00 to $960.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Bank of America increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $916.86.

Read Our Latest Report on GS

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Alex S. Golten sold 1,092 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $936.89, for a total value of $1,023,083.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 2,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $927.17, for a total value of $2,638,725.82. Following the transaction, the treasurer directly owned 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,870,101.89. This represents a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 117,283 shares of company stock worth $112,016,033 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 90.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 821 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $581,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 867.5% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 387 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More The Goldman Sachs Group News

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The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a global investment banking and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1869 as a commercial paper business, the company has grown into a diversified financial institution that provides a broad range of services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. The firm is led by Chief Executive Officer David M. Solomon and operates across major financial centers worldwide.

Goldman Sachs’ core businesses include investment banking, global markets, asset and wealth management, and consumer banking.

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