Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Director David A. Friedman Sells 4,166 Shares

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total value of $76,821.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 100,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,844,221.28. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Levi Strauss & Co. stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.22. 1,646,848 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,205,343. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $17.61 and a 200 day moving average of $18.17. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $15.62 and a 1-year high of $24.34. The company has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.17.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 3.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LEVI. Washington Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 69.7% in the third quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,000 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 11,500 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 21,690 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 49,514 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 6,528 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 11,900 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth about $10,817,000. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co engages in the design, marketing, and sale of apparel products. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, tops, shorts, skirts, jackets, footwear, and related accessories. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was founded by Levi Strauss in 1853 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.