Eagle Asset Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 38,291 Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 38,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,448,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned 0.07% of Kontoor Brands at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KTB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 661,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,089,000 after purchasing an additional 17,974 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 222.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 13,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,066,000 after buying an additional 8,991 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 73.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 757,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,942,000 after acquiring an additional 320,117 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in Kontoor Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,799,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 2,368.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 10,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 9,830 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KTB shares. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of 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 note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Insider Transactions at Kontoor Brands

In other Kontoor Brands news, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.60, for a total value of $9,961,776.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,748,177.60. The trade was a 26.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.71, for a total transaction of $729,537.69. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,467,227.09. This trade represents a 33.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE:KTB opened at $93.71 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.82 and a 52-week high of $94.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $82.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.55. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.19.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.11. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 73.99%. The business had revenue of $670.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $663.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. This is a boost from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.05%.

About Kontoor Brands

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.