Jennison Associates LLC Buys 320,117 Shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB - Free Report) by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 757,426 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 320,117 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 1.37% of Kontoor Brands worth $61,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KTB. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,043,637 shares of the company's stock worth $135,187,000 after buying an additional 201,399 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 1.0% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,270,540 shares of the company's stock worth $84,046,000 after acquiring an additional 12,019 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 5.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,250,293 shares of the company's stock worth $82,707,000 after acquiring an additional 60,926 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 1.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 712,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,137,000 after acquiring an additional 7,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Kontoor Brands by 351.7% during the 2nd 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 during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kontoor Brands

In related news, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 18,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,467,227.09. This represents a 33.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of Kontoor Brands stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

KTB stock opened at $87.49 on Thursday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $81.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.01. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.82 and a 52-week high of $92.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.19.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $663.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from Kontoor Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Kontoor Brands's dividend payout ratio is 45.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on KTB. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Kontoor Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 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. Guggenheim raised their target price on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.00.

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.