Strategic Advisors LLC Sells 4,000 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Strategic Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 20.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,900 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $215,000. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $223,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $270,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $294,000. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $330,000. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on LEVI shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Harmit J. Singh sold 346,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.21, for a total value of $7,696,986.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 525,337 shares in the company, valued at $11,667,734.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.37, for a total value of $80,695.42. Following the transaction, the director now owns 162,510 shares in the company, valued at $3,147,818.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Harmit J. Singh sold 346,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.21, for a total transaction of $7,696,986.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 525,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,667,734.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 725,033 shares of company stock valued at $16,276,940 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:LEVI traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $18.91. 345,020 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,461,563. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $12.41 and a one year high of $24.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.41. The company has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a PE ratio of 54.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.16.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 23.21%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. Levi Strauss & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. This is a positive change from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 137.15%.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co designs, markets, and sells apparels and related accessories for men, women, and children worldwide. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, activewears, tops, shorts, skirts, dresses, jumpsuits, shirts, sweaters, jackets, footwear, and related accessories under the Levi's, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co, Denizen, and Beyond Yoga brands.