Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 661,394 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,974 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.20% of Kontoor Brands worth $54,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 6.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands during the 1st quarter worth $527,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands in the 1st quarter worth about $524,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kontoor Brands during the second quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 5.0% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

Kontoor Brands stock opened at $91.78 on Friday. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.95 and a fifty-two week high of $94.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $83.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.14. The stock has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.50.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $663.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. This is a positive change from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kontoor Brands

In other Kontoor Brands news, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.71, for a total transaction of $729,537.69. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,179 shares in the company, valued at $1,467,227.09. This represents a 33.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. This trade represents a 26.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KTB. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.