Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of GAP Put Options (NYSE:GAP)

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 27,840 put options on the company. This is an increase of 70% compared to the average volume of 16,398 put options.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In related news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 80,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total value of $1,628,590.15. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,290 shares in the company, valued at $168,701.50. This represents a 90.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 3,393 shares of GAP stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.58, for a total value of $66,434.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 133,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,610,816.78. This trade represents a 2.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 177,495 shares of company stock valued at $3,598,459 over the last ninety days. 31.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

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

GAP Stock Performance

Shares of GAP traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.41. The stock had a trading volume of 6,245,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,476,170. GAP 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.53. The firm has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.14.

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

GAP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors 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 yield of 2.95%. This is a positive change from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. GAP’s payout ratio is currently 29.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About GAP

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.