8,408 Shares in Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) Bought by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,408 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRI. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Carter’s by 109.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,617 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,468,000 after buying an additional 20,210 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Carter’s by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,182 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 2,074 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Carter’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 37,026 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Carter’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $291,000.

Carter’s Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of CRI stock opened at $35.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 5.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.21. Carter’s, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.04 and a 1 year high of $72.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.47.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The textile maker reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.13. Carter’s had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 27.15%. The firm had revenue of $291.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $624.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Carter’s’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Carter’s, Inc. will post 5.15 EPS for the current year.

Carter’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.98%. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Carter’s from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Carter’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $40.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Carter’s from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Carter’s in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $36.20.

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.