The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) Plans $0.17 Quarterly Dividend

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 20th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.165 per share on Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%.

GAP has a dividend payout ratio of 28.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect GAP to earn $2.14 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.66 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.8%.

GAP Stock Performance

Shares of GAP stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.72. 10,393,111 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,023,842. GAP has a 52 week low of $16.99 and a 52 week high of $28.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.54.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.18. GAP had a return on equity of 29.03% and a net margin of 5.40%. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that GAP will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GAP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on GAP from $32.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of GAP from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of GAP from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of GAP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of GAP from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, GAP presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elisabeth B. Donohue sold 3,539 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total transaction of $74,460.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,160. The trade was a 46.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Horacio Barbeito sold 40,764 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were 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 owns 308 shares in the company, valued at $6,181.56. This represents a 99.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 228,880 shares of company stock worth $4,985,854. Insiders own 30.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in GAP stock. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 12,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

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.