The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) CEO Sells $818,133.48 in Stock

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) CEO Horacio Barbeito sold 40,764 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total value of $818,133.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 308 shares in the company, valued at $6,181.56. This trade represents a 99.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

GAP Stock Up 8.6 %

GAP traded up $1.72 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $21.74. The company had a trading volume of 12,226,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,291,463. The company has a market capitalization of $8.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $22.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The Gap, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.54 and a 52 week high of $26.41.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.18. GAP had a return on equity of 29.03% and a net margin of 5.40%. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. This is a positive change from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GAP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Argus raised GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of GAP in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in GAP stock. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 209,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,953,000. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.06% of GAP as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GAP Company Profile

Gap, Inc operates as a global apparel retail company, which offers clothing, apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children. The firm operates through the following segments: Gap Global, Old Navy Global, Banana Republic Global, Athleta, and Other. The Gap Global segment includes apparel and accessories for men and women under the Gap brand, along with the GapKids, BabyGap, GapMaternity, GapBody, and GapFit collections.