Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB - Free Report) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 194,325 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,328 shares during the quarter. Kontoor Brands accounts for 1.3% of Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.35% of Kontoor Brands worth $16,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 579,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,524,000 after buying an additional 285,897 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,630,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 valued at $119,827,000 after acquiring an additional 199,601 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 849,712 shares of the company's stock worth $72,574,000 after buying an additional 188,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,043,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,141,000 after acquiring an additional 140,068 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $108.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kontoor Brands has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.00.

Kontoor Brands Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KTB traded down $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $61.13. 242,530 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 538,035. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.00 and a 12-month high of $96.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $63.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.93.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.07. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 73.99% and a net margin of 9.72%. The business had revenue of $699.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. Kontoor Brands's revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Kontoor Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.60%.

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.