LMR Partners LLP Invests $4.80 Million in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 58,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,799,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 44.3% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 24,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 7,466 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,508,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 8,078.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 28,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,341,000 after acquiring an additional 28,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 78.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 52,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,483,000 after acquiring an additional 23,223 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kontoor Brands Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:KTB opened at $90.69 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $80.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.57. The company has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.19. 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 $51.76 and a 1-year high of $92.48.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $670.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $663.45 million. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 73.99%. The company’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Kontoor Brands’s payout ratio is presently 46.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KTB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kontoor Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kontoor Brands news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 331,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,748,177.60. This represents a 26.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.