Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. Buys New Stake in Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI)

Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 33,976 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,544,000. Carter's comprises about 2.3% of Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. owned 0.09% of Carter's at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Carter's by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 630 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Carter's by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,975 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Carter's by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 52,858 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $3,655,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Carter's by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 17,058 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,179,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Carter's by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 4,930 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter.

Carter's Stock Down 2.2 %

NYSE:CRI traded down $1.55 on Friday, reaching $70.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,722,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 775,948. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.73 and a 200 day moving average of $74.89. The stock has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.29. Carter's, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.65 and a 12-month high of $88.03.

Carter's (NYSE:CRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The textile maker reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $858.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $867.81 million. Carter's had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 28.79%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Carter's, Inc. will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Carter's Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Carter's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Carter's's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.47%.

Insider Transactions at Carter's

In other news, Director Mark Hipp sold 1,875 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total transaction of $153,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at $835,055.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush upped their price objective on Carter's from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Carter's from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Carter's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Carter's from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Carter's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Carter's has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.80.

About Carter's

Carter's, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, sources, and markets branded childrenswear under the Carter's, OshKosh, Skip Hop, Child of Mine, Just One You, Simple Joys, Little Planet, and other brands in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S.