New York State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 3,838 Shares of Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI)

New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,891 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,838 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Carter’s were worth $3,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Carter’s by 17,623.0% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 450,695 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $41,459,000 after acquiring an additional 448,152 shares during the period. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carter’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,588,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carter’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,217,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Carter’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,564,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Carter’s by 1,177.9% during the 1st quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 295,810 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $21,274,000 after buying an additional 272,662 shares during the period.

Carter’s Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE CRI opened at $71.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.28 and a 200-day moving average of $74.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.29. Carter’s, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.65 and a 52 week high of $88.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 2.15.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The textile maker reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $858.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $867.81 million. Carter’s had a return on equity of 28.79% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Carter’s, Inc. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Carter’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Carter’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Carter’s from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on Carter’s from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Carter’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on Carter’s from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Carter’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.75.

Insider Transactions at Carter’s

In other news, Director Mark Hipp sold 1,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total value of $153,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,055.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Carter’s Company Profile

Carter's, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, sources, and markets branded childrenswear under the Carter's, OshKosh, Skip Hop, Child of Mine, Just One You, Simple Joys, Little Planet, and other brands in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S.