Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC Takes $879,000 Position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 50,796 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock, valued at approximately $879,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LEVI. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,541,784 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $26,858,000 after acquiring an additional 840,251 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 113.8% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,200 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 18,200 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $511,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,000 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LEVI shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.27.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 4.0 %

NYSE LEVI opened at $18.18 on Friday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52 week low of $15.62 and a 52 week high of $24.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $17.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.96, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 100,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,844,221.28. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,664 shares of company stock valued at $301,785. 3.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Levi Strauss & Co. Profile

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.