Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Stake in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 595,710 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,526 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of GAP worth $12,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of GAP in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in GAP by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 263,675 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,513,000 after buying an additional 3,109 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of GAP by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 41,265 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $863,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of GAP in the 3rd quarter worth $142,000. Finally, Symmetry Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of GAP in the fourth quarter worth $443,000. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

GAP Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of GPS opened at $21.59 on Friday. The Gap, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.22 and a 1 year high of $28.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 2.34.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.22 billion. GAP had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 22.56%. GAP’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.75) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Gap, Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on GPS. Barclays increased their target price on GAP from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Cowen boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. KGI Securities lifted their price target on shares of GAP from $9.10 to $25.20 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on GAP from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, GAP has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.95.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In related news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 2,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.70, for a total value of $64,558.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other GAP news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 2,724 shares of GAP stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.70, for a total value of $64,558.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $556,140.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,384 shares in the company, valued at $31,832. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 266,723 shares of company stock valued at $6,886,765 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 30.81% of the company’s stock.

GAP Company Profile

The Gap, Inc operates as an apparel retail company. The company offers apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta brands. Its products include adult apparel and accessories; and fitness and lifestyle products for use in yoga, training, sports, travel, and everyday activities for women and girls.