California Public Employees Retirement System Has $7.27 Million Stake in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its position in The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 347,593 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 20,681 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.09% of GAP worth $7,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of GAP in the third quarter valued at about $142,000. Symmetry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in GAP during the fourth quarter worth approximately $443,000. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC bought a new position in GAP during the 4th quarter worth $614,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in GAP by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 74,080 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $787,000 after acquiring an additional 35,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. 58.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at GAP

In other news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 27,222 shares of GAP stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total value of $767,115.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,493,897.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other GAP news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 27,222 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total value of $767,115.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,985 shares in the company, valued at $3,493,897.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Gruber sold 24,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total value of $556,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,384 shares in the company, valued at $31,832. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 266,723 shares of company stock worth $6,886,765 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 30.81% of the company’s stock.

GAP Stock Performance

Shares of GAP stock opened at $21.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 2.34. The Gap, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.22 and a twelve month high of $28.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is $22.76 and its 200 day moving average is $19.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. GAP had a return on equity of 22.56% and a net margin of 3.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.75) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Gap, Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

GAP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on GPS. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on GAP from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Cowen upped their target price on GAP from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on GAP from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on GAP to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.95.

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.