Blueshift Asset Management LLC Sells 5,633 Shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 52.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,633 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 73.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 757,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,942,000 after buying an additional 320,117 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Kontoor Brands by 351.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,976,000 after acquiring an additional 270,427 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 159.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 201,399 shares during the period. Finally, Bwcp LP bought a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands in the second quarter worth $11,890,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Kontoor Brands Stock Down 1.4 %

Kontoor Brands stock opened at $90.70 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $83.70 and its 200 day moving average is $74.94. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.95 and a 12-month high of $94.41.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $670.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $663.45 million. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 73.99%. Kontoor Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The company 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 2.29%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kontoor Brands

In other news, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.71, for a total transaction of $729,537.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,467,227.09. This represents a 33.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of Kontoor Brands 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,916 shares in the company, valued at $27,748,177.60. This trade represents a 26.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

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.