Bank of New York Mellon Corp Takes Position in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,754,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,763,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.73% of GAP at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GAP. Rhumbline Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of GAP in the first quarter valued at approximately $12,210,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in GAP during the first quarter worth $7,422,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in GAP during the first quarter worth $5,065,000. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in GAP during the fourth quarter worth $4,953,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in GAP during the first quarter worth $3,519,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In other GAP news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 51,385 shares of GAP stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $1,387,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 123,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,347,595. The trade was a 29.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 30.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

GAP Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:GAP traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.85. The company had a trading volume of 7,472,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,813,309. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.89, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $23.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.47. The Gap, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.99 and a 12-month high of $29.29.

GAP (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 5.80%. GAP's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GAP shares. Citigroup cut their target price on GAP from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut GAP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of GAP in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on GAP from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on GAP from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.