Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $20.74 Million Stock Holdings in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 253,577 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,787 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.46% of Kontoor Brands worth $20,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KTB. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Kontoor Brands in the third quarter worth $30,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the third quarter worth $32,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 242.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 387 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,467,227.09. This represents a 33.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Kontoor Brands Trading Up 0.3 %

KTB stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $86.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 237,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 480,358. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $87.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.20. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.95 and a 52 week high of $94.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 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 the consensus estimate of $663.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. This is a boost from Kontoor Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Kontoor Brands's payout ratio is currently 46.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KTB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price 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 cut shares of Kontoor Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.00.

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.