Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB - Free Report) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,203,100 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 15,058 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.18% of Kontoor Brands worth $98,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KTB. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 73.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 757,426 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,942,000 after acquiring an additional 320,117 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position 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 worth $22,186,000 after purchasing an additional 205,885 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Kontoor Brands by 10.9% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Bwcp LP purchased a new position in Kontoor Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,890,000. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Kontoor Brands

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 value of $9,961,776.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,748,177.60. This represents a 26.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,467,227.09. The trade was a 33.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KTB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a 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 note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KTB traded up $0.57 on Thursday, reaching $86.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 423,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 479,821. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.84. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.95 and a 52-week high of $94.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.50. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.20.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 73.99% and a net margin of 9.72%. The company had revenue of $670.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $663.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders 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 represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. This is an increase from Kontoor Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Kontoor Brands's payout ratio is currently 46.85%.

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.