Manchester Capital Management LLC Takes $115,000 Position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,642 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock, valued at approximately $115,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $879,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,541,784 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $26,858,000 after acquiring an additional 840,251 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 113.8% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,200 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 18,200 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $511,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Up 0.5 %

Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $18.32 on Friday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a twelve month low of $15.62 and a twelve month high of $24.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.20. The company has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $74,988.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 104,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,875,204. This trade represents a 3.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,664 shares of company stock valued at $301,785. Company insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LEVI. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.27.

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.