Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Stock Position in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 595,710 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,526 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in GAP were worth $12,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GPS. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GAP in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in GAP by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 263,675 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,513,000 after purchasing an additional 3,109 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in GAP by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 41,265 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in GAP in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $142,000. Finally, Symmetry Partners LLC acquired a new position in GAP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $443,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 9,818 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.94, for a total transaction of $274,314.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Sarah Gilligan sold 29,425 shares of GAP stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.58, for a total value of $664,416.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,697 shares in the company, valued at $38,318.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 9,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.94, for a total transaction of $274,314.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 266,723 shares of company stock worth $6,886,765 in the last 90 days. 30.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GPS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on GAP to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Cowen upped their target price on GAP from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on GAP from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.95.

GAP Price Performance

Shares of GAP stock opened at $21.59 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.97. The Gap, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.22 and a twelve month high of $28.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 2.34.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. GAP had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 22.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.75) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Gap, Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.78%.

About GAP

The Gap, Inc operates as an apparel retail company. The company offers apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta brands. Its products include adult apparel and accessories; and fitness and lifestyle products for use in yoga, training, sports, travel, and everyday activities for women and girls.