Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) Shares Bought by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,940 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $2,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands in the third quarter worth $48,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Kontoor Brands by 53.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company 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 raised their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kontoor Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

NYSE KTB opened at $90.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.42. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.12 and a 1-year high of $92.48. The company has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.10.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $670.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $663.45 million. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 73.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 46.85%.

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.