Swiss National Bank Has $8.02 Million Stake in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 0.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 98,114 shares of the company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $8,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 351.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,976,000 after purchasing an additional 270,427 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted 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 purchasing an additional 205,885 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 10.9% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,043,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,187,000 after purchasing an additional 201,399 shares in the last quarter. Bwcp LP bought a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands in the second quarter valued at about $11,890,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 123.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 220,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,557,000 after purchasing an additional 121,689 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KTB. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.00.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

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. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $82.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.19. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.82 and a 12-month high of $94.41.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $670.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $663.45 million. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 73.99% and a net margin of 9.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 331,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,748,177.60. This trade represents a 26.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,467,227.09. This trade represents a 33.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kontoor Brands 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.