2,754,136 Shares in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) Purchased by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,754,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,763,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.73% of GAP at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GAP. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in GAP in the 4th quarter worth about $4,953,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of GAP during the first quarter worth approximately $1,971,000. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new position in shares of GAP during the first quarter worth approximately $12,210,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of GAP during the first quarter worth approximately $3,519,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of GAP during the first quarter worth approximately $1,107,000. 58.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other GAP news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 51,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $1,387,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 30.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

GAP Price Performance

Shares of GAP opened at $22.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 2.14. The Gap, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.99 and a twelve month high of $29.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.47.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. GAP had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.86%. GAP’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GAP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of GAP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of GAP from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of GAP from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of GAP from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $29.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of GAP in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.47.

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.