171,390 Shares in The Gap, Inc. $GAP Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has acquired 171,390 shares of The Gap, Inc. valued at approximately $3.5 million, according to a recent Form 13F filing.
• Analysts have mixed views on GAP stock, with price targets varying from $23.00 to $29.00, resulting in a current consensus rating of "Hold."
• The Gap, Inc. plans to issue a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share on October 29th, translating to an annualized yield of 3.1%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 171,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,532,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GAP during the first quarter valued at $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of GAP during the first quarter valued at $75,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators purchased a new stake in shares of GAP during the first quarter valued at $81,000. Covestor Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of GAP during the first quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GAP during the first quarter valued at $91,000. 58.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GAP Price Performance

Shares of GAP stock traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $21.75. The stock had a trading volume of 12,412,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,931,166. The stock's 50 day moving average is $21.06 and its 200 day moving average is $21.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.41, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 2.15. The Gap, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.99 and a twelve month high of $29.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

GAP (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business 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%. The company's revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 8th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 8th. GAP's dividend payout ratio is 28.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GAP shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of GAP from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of GAP from $27.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $29.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of GAP in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of GAP from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $22.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of GAP in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.73.

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.