Meeder Asset Management Inc. Takes $316,000 Position in Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,824 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Carter’s by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,245,943 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $67,518,000 after buying an additional 74,133 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Carter’s by 109.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 174,814 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $9,473,000 after acquiring an additional 91,162 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Carter’s by 79.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 152,560 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $9,913,000 after acquiring an additional 67,460 shares during the last quarter. Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in Carter’s in the 4th quarter worth $635,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 1.9% during 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 last quarter.

Carter’s Trading Up 1.1 %

CRI opened at $40.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.07 and a 200 day moving average of $54.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Carter’s, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.84 and a 12 month high of $86.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.49, a P/E/G 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.52. Carter’s had a return on equity of 27.15% and a net margin of 8.11%. The firm had revenue of $859.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $835.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.82%. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRI has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Carter’s from $65.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group decreased 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, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Carter’s from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average 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.