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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink.

GAP Stock Performance

NYSE GAP opened at $21.40 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $22.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.49. The Gap, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.54 and a 52-week high of $26.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.38.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 29.03% and a net margin of 5.40%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This is a boost from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GAP shares. Argus raised GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upped their price objective 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 lowered their target price on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in GAP stock. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 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 SEC. 58.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.