GAP (NYSE:GAP) Stock Price Down 4.8% on Insider Selling

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP)’s share price was down 4.8% on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $25.39 and last traded at $25.2830. Approximately 1,004,274 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 9,163,739 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.56.

Specifically, Director William Sydney Fisher sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.02, for a total transaction of $10,808,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,853,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,100,300.06. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert J. Fisher sold 500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.45, for a total value of $13,725,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,329,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,944,829.90. The trade was a 17.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on GAP shares. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of GAP from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $30.00 in a report on Friday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on GAP from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on GAP from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on GAP from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GAP has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.57.

GAP Stock Up 2.5%

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $23.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.51. The firm has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 2.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. GAP had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 24.91%. GAP’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 7th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 7th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is 29.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GAP. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of GAP during the 3rd quarter valued at $765,000. Verity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in GAP during the third quarter valued at about $758,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in GAP by 0.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 71,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,537,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in GAP by 4.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,588,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,154,000 after acquiring an additional 180,991 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Trust Co bought a new stake in GAP in the third quarter worth about $1,716,000. 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.