SG Americas Securities LLC Makes New Investment in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 170,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,519,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of GAP in the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,210,000. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of GAP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,953,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GAP in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,971,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

GAP Price Performance

GAP stock opened at $20.86 on Friday. The Gap, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.99 and a 1 year high of $29.29. The firm has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $22.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.54.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.07. GAP had a return on equity of 29.03% and a net margin of 5.40%. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on GAP from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $29.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of GAP in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of GAP in a report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays upped their target price on GAP from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on GAP from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, GAP currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other GAP news, insider Julie Gruber sold 1,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total transaction of $30,109.83. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $732,568.05. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 51,385 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $1,387,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,985 shares in the company, valued at $3,347,595. This trade represents a 29.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,444 shares of company stock valued at $2,348,404 in the last quarter. 30.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.