Needham Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Carter's, Inc. $CRI

Key Points

• Needham Investment Management LLC has reduced its holdings in Carter's, Inc. by 23.8%, selling 37,300 shares, and now owns 119,500 shares valued at approximately $4.89 million.
• Carter's recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing a 3.5% yield, with the ex-dividend date on August 26th.
• Analysts have a generally negative outlook for Carter's, with ratings ranging from "Hold" to "Strong Sell," and a recent price target reduction from UBS Group from $32.00 to $26.00.

Needham Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI - Free Report) by 23.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 119,500 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 37,300 shares during the quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC owned about 0.33% of Carter's worth $4,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Carter's by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 5,217 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Carter's by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,575 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Carter's by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,408 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in shares of Carter's during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000.

Carter's Price Performance

Shares of Carter's stock traded down $0.34 on Wednesday, hitting $28.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 935,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,523,939. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.20. Carter's, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.38 and a 1 year high of $71.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $28.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.37. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 1.02.

Carter's (NYSE:CRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The textile maker reported $0.17 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Carter's's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Carter's, Inc. will post 5.15 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. Carter's's payout ratio is 26.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRI. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Carter's from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Zacks Research lowered Carter's from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Carter's from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Carter's from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Carter's has an average rating of "Strong Sell" and an average target price of $30.25.

About Carter's

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.