Blueshift Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 52.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,633 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 242.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kontoor Brands Stock Down 1.4 %

KTB opened at $90.70 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.94. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.95 and a 52 week high of $94.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.19.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $670.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $663.45 million. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 73.99% and a net margin of 9.72%. The company’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.85%.

Insider Transactions at Kontoor Brands

In related news, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of Kontoor Brands 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 in the company, valued at $1,467,227.09. This trade represents a 33.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $27,748,177.60. The trade was a 26.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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. 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim upped their target price on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

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.