AQR Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Carter's, Inc. $CRI

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) by 31%, now owning approximately 1.2 million shares, worth around $48.3 million.
• Carter's reported $0.17 earnings per share for the recent quarter, missing estimates of $0.43, while revenue increased by 3.7% year-over-year to $585.31 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, representing a 3.5% yield, set to be paid on September 12th.

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI - Free Report) by 31.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,199,759 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 539,763 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 3.29% of Carter's worth $48,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRI. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Carter's by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 5,217 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Carter's by 18.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,575 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Carter's by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,408 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Carter's by 80.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new stake in Carter's during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000.

Carter's Stock Up 4.4%

Shares of CRI traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $29.83. The company had a trading volume of 450,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,517,590. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Carter's, Inc. has a one year low of $23.38 and a one year high of $71.99. The company's fifty day moving average price is $28.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.34.

Carter's (NYSE:CRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The textile maker reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $585.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $563.24 million. Carter's had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 20.68%. Carter's's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Carter's, Inc. will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carter's Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Carter's's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Carter's from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Carter's from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Zacks Research lowered Carter's from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Carter's from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Strong Sell" and an average price target of $30.25.

Carter's Company 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.