Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on GAP (NYSE:GAP)

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 29,125 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 104% compared to the typical daily volume of 14,264 call options.

Insider Activity at GAP

In other GAP news, Director William Sydney Fisher sold 123,950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.24, for a total value of $3,252,448.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,696,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $96,996,606.08. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder John J. Fisher sold 250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.18, for a total value of $6,045,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,000,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,198,183.36. This represents a 19.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 31.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

GAP Stock Up 19.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GAP traded up $3.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.24. 30,468,052 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,033,019. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. GAP has a 12 month low of $18.54 and a 12 month high of $30.75. The company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.38. The business's fifty day moving average price is $23.14.

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GAP (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.07 billion. Analysts forecast that GAP will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is a positive change from GAP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. GAP's payout ratio is presently 29.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on GAP. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Argus raised GAP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of GAP in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on GAP from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.33.

About GAP

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.