Empirical Finance LLC Grows Stake in Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI - Free Report) by 98.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,830 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 8,364 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC's holdings in Carter's were worth $912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Carter's by 155.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,851,079 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $154,500,000 after buying an additional 1,732,857 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Carter's by 70.4% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 300,661 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $19,537,000 after acquiring an additional 124,191 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Carter's by 168.4% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 116,278 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $6,301,000 after purchasing an additional 72,962 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Carter's during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,391,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Carter's by 79.3% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 152,560 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $9,913,000 after purchasing an additional 67,460 shares during the last quarter.

Carter's Stock Performance

CRI traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.92. The company had a trading volume of 759,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 853,966. Carter's, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.65 and a 1 year high of $88.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $54.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.05.

Carter's Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. Carter's's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised Carter's from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Carter's from $72.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.67.

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.