New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Holdings in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 133,647 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 13,874 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in GAP were worth $2,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GAP in the third quarter worth about $142,000. Symmetry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in GAP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $443,000. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC purchased a new stake in GAP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $614,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of GAP by 90.6% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 74,080 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 35,223 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of GAP by 11.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

GAP Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of GPS opened at $22.20 on Tuesday. The Gap, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.22 and a 1 year high of $28.59. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.42.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.29. GAP had a return on equity of 22.56% and a net margin of 3.37%. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.75) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Gap, Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other GAP news, insider Julie Gruber sold 9,414 shares of the business’s 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 $263,027.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,668.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 93,809 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.14, for a total value of $2,639,785.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 141,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,348.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Gruber sold 9,414 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.94, for a total value of $263,027.16. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,668.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 266,723 shares of company stock worth $6,886,765. Company insiders own 30.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GPS shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of GAP from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of GAP from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. TheStreet raised shares of GAP from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on GAP from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.33.

GAP Company Profile

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.