The Gap, Inc. $GAP Stock Acquired by Monte Financial Group LLC

Monte Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 278,751 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,992 shares during the quarter. GAP accounts for approximately 2.1% of Monte Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Monte Financial Group LLC owned approximately 0.08% of GAP worth $6,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at about $428,824,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,345,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at about $12,794,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at about $12,180,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,911,000. 58.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

GAP Stock Performance

Shares of GAP stock opened at $22.38 on Friday. The Gap, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.11 and a 52 week high of $29.36. The company has a market capitalization of $7.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.82.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.69 billion. GAP had a net margin of 8.14% and a return on equity of 19.72%. The business’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. GAP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.40 earnings per share for the current year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 7th were issued a dividend of $0.1750 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 7th. GAP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.90%.

Insider Activity at GAP

In other GAP news, insider Julie Gruber sold 27,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.56, for a total value of $648,795.28. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $727,438.56. This represents a 47.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director William Fisher sold 500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.89, for a total value of $11,945,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,903,198 shares in the company, valued at $379,927,400.22. The trade was a 3.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,027,538 shares of company stock valued at $24,249,556. 31.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GAP. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded GAP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on GAP from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on GAP in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on GAP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “cautious” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on GAP in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, GAP currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.07.

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. The Old Navy Global segment offers clothing and accessories for adults and children.