Verition Fund Management LLC Purchases 29,000 Shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 174,401 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,000 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 0.32% of Kontoor Brands worth $14,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KTB. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands in the third quarter valued at $8,479,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 118,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,668,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in Kontoor Brands by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 38,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,188,000 after acquiring an additional 6,497 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 164.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 26,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 16,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 76.5% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 70,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,785,000 after purchasing an additional 30,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kontoor Brands

In other Kontoor Brands news, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.71, for a total transaction of $729,537.69. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of Kontoor Brands stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

Shares of KTB stock opened at $91.73 on Friday. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.95 and a 52 week high of $94.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.10. The firm has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G 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 posted 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. 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 in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. Kontoor Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Kontoor Brands’s payout ratio is currently 45.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KTB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.