Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 5.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 253,577 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,787 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $20,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 351.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,976,000 after purchasing an additional 270,427 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 159.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 335,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,186,000 after acquiring an additional 205,885 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 10.9% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,043,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,187,000 after acquiring an additional 201,399 shares during the period. Bwcp LP acquired a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands during the second quarter worth about $11,890,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 123.7% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 220,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,557,000 after purchasing an additional 121,689 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kontoor Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

NYSE:KTB opened at $90.29 on Thursday. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.52 and a 12-month high of $92.48. The firm has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50-day moving average is $79.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.11. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 73.99%. The firm had revenue of $670.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $663.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Kontoor Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 45.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.60, for a total transaction of $9,961,776.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,916 shares in the company, valued at $27,748,177.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.60, for a total transaction of $9,961,776.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,916 shares in the company, valued at $27,748,177.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.71, for a total value of $729,537.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,179 shares in the company, valued at $1,467,227.09. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kontoor Brands Company Profile

Kontoor Brands, Inc, a lifestyle apparel company, designs, produces, procures, markets, distributes, and licenses denim, apparel, footwear, and accessories, primarily under the Wrangler and Lee brands. The company operates through two segments: Wrangler and Lee. It licenses and sells apparel under the Rock & Republic brand name.