The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) CEO Horacio Barbeito Sells 40,764 Shares of Stock

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) CEO Horacio Barbeito sold 40,764 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,181.56. This represents a 99.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

GAP Stock Up 8.6 %

GAP stock opened at $21.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.38. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $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 quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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 analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. Equities analysts forecast that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This is a boost from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on GAP shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of GAP in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Argus raised GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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.