Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Reduces Stake in Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS cut its holdings in shares of Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,694 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 271 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Carter’s were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new stake in Carter’s during the fourth quarter worth about $768,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 228.1% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 27,856 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 19,367 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Carter’s by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 530,582 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $28,752,000 after purchasing an additional 9,675 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in Carter’s during the fourth quarter worth $152,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Carter’s by 2,112.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 531 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the period.

Carter’s Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of CRI opened at $41.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.76. Carter’s, Inc. has a one year low of $38.84 and a one year high of $86.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.56, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.24.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The textile maker reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $859.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $835.82 million. Carter’s had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 27.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Carter’s, Inc. will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carter’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CRI shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Carter’s from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Carter’s from $57.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Carter’s from $65.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Carter’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

Carter’s Profile

Carter’s, Inc engages in the business of brand marketing of young children’s apparel. It operates through the following segments: the United States (US) Retail, US Wholesale, and International. The US Retail segment includes selling products through retail stores and ecommerce websites. The US Wholesale segment focuses on wholesale partners.