53,700 Shares in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) Purchased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 53,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,107,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of GAP in the 1st quarter valued at about $12,210,000. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of GAP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,953,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in GAP during the 1st quarter valued at $3,519,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in GAP during the 1st quarter valued at $1,971,000. 58.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other GAP news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 51,385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 123,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,347,595. This trade represents a 29.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Horacio Barbeito sold 40,764 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total transaction of $818,133.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,181.56. This trade represents a 99.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 99,444 shares of company stock valued at $2,348,404. Insiders own 30.56% of the company's stock.

GAP Price Performance

Shares of GAP stock traded down $0.76 on Friday, hitting $20.86. 9,993,621 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,801,287. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $22.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.86. 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 company has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.20. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. Analysts expect that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. GAP's payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of GAP in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of GAP in a research report on Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on GAP from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on GAP from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.47.

GAP Company Profile

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.