Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Carter’s, Inc. $CRI

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,822,670 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 72,879 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.49% of Carter’s worth $156,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRI. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Carter’s by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 5,139 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Carter’s by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 17,718 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $960,000 after purchasing an additional 2,451 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Carter’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,609,000. Mariner LLC raised its position in Carter’s by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,534 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Carter’s by 187.0% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 55,400 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,002,000 after purchasing an additional 36,100 shares during the period.

Carter’s Stock Performance

Shares of CRI stock opened at $25.4450 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Carter’s, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.38 and a 52 week high of $71.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $926.96 million, a PE ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.80.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The textile maker reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.26). Carter’s had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 20.68%. The business had revenue of $585.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $563.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Carter’s, Inc. will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carter’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on CRI shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Carter’s from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays cut their target price on Carter’s from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group cut their target price on Carter’s from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Carter’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $30.25.

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.