GAP (NYSE:GAP) Trading Down 2.8% on Insider Selling

Shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) fell 2.8% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $20.23 and last traded at $20.18. 1,274,666 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 5,987,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.76.

Specifically, Director Elisabeth B. Donohue sold 3,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total value of $74,460.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,160. The trade was a 46.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GAP shares. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of GAP in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on GAP from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on GAP from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GAP currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.25.

GAP Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.57. The stock has a market cap of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.38.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.18. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. This is a positive change from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.86%.

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.