Marotta Asset Management Takes Position in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Marotta Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 2,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 242.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 407.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KTB shares. Barclays increased their price target 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 raised their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Kontoor Brands Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:KTB traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $87.58. 33,177 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 291,779. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.20. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.95 and a 12 month high of $94.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $88.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.56.

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

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. This is an increase from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $80.71, for a total transaction of $729,537.69. Following the sale, 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. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

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.