New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Stake in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB - Free Report) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,266 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,800 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.13% of Kontoor Brands worth $4,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Kontoor Brands by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 579,844 shares of the company's stock worth $49,524,000 after acquiring an additional 285,897 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc increased its stake in Kontoor Brands by 119.1% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 466,065 shares of the company's stock worth $39,807,000 after acquiring an additional 253,360 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kontoor Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $17,630,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kontoor Brands by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,402,701 shares of the company's stock worth $119,827,000 after acquiring an additional 199,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Kontoor Brands by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 849,712 shares of the company's stock worth $72,574,000 after acquiring an additional 188,001 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kontoor Brands Trading Up 1.8%

KTB traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $70.52. 677,558 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 572,220. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.00 and a 52 week high of $96.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $68.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 71.33% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm had revenue of $622.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Kontoor Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KTB shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 target price on Kontoor Brands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Kontoor Brands from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.50.

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.