Tracy Gardner Sells 2,934 Shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) Stock

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) Director Tracy Gardner sold 2,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.48, for a total transaction of $68,890.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 51,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,218,635.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

GAP Price Performance

GAP stock opened at $23.86 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 2.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.40 and a 200-day moving average of $22.16. The Gap, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.58 and a 1 year high of $30.75.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The apparel retailer reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. GAP had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 27.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.01 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Gap, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in GAP by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,305,600 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $63,519,000 after purchasing an additional 285,000 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of GAP by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 367,130 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,677,000 after acquiring an additional 91,151 shares during the period. Polianta Ltd bought a new stake in GAP in the 4th quarter valued at $968,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in GAP by 266.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 48,820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 35,495 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in GAP by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 74,080 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 35,223 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on GPS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of GAP from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup raised GAP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $21.00 to $28.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on GAP from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $17.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of GAP to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.98.

About GAP

The Gap, Inc operates as an apparel retail company. The company offers apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta brands. Its products include adult apparel and accessories; and fitness and lifestyle products for use in yoga, training, sports, travel, and everyday activities for women and girls.