New York State Teachers Retirement System Purchases Shares of 245,757 The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP)

New York State Teachers Retirement System 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 institutional investor purchased 245,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,065,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.07% of GAP as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GAP in the 1st quarter worth about $91,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in GAP during the first quarter worth about $96,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in GAP in the first quarter worth about $1,107,000. Polianta Ltd bought a new position in shares of GAP during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,150,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of GAP during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,519,000. Institutional investors own 58.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on GAP shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of GAP in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on GAP from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group reduced their price target on GAP from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of GAP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GAP has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.47.

Insider Activity at GAP

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 123,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,347,595. This trade represents a 29.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 30.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

GAP Stock Performance

NYSE:GAP traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $22.67. The company had a trading volume of 7,374,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,815,791. The firm has a market cap of $8.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.81, a PEG ratio of 2.46 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $23.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.49. The Gap, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.99 and a 52 week high of $29.29.

GAP (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 5.80%. GAP's revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. GAP's payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

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.