Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Makes New $932,000 Investment in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 45,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $932,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GAP. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new position in GAP in the first quarter worth about $75,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new stake in shares of GAP during the first quarter valued at approximately $81,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of GAP during the first quarter valued at approximately $91,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of GAP during the first quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of GAP during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,107,000. Institutional investors own 58.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GAP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on GAP from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on GAP from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of GAP from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of GAP from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of GAP from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.47.

Insider Activity at GAP

In other news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 51,385 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $1,387,395.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 123,985 shares in the company, valued at $3,347,595. The trade was a 29.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 31.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

GAP Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE GAP traded down $0.32 on Tuesday, hitting $22.34. 971,408 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,785,310. The Gap, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.99 and a 52-week high of $29.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 2.14. The company's 50-day moving average price is $23.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.49.

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

GAP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. GAP's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

GAP 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.