Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Shares Purchased by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,892 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,665 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Matrix Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 678.9% during the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 5,507 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $105,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,904.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 5,137 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 4,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $115,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEVI opened at $16.11 on Friday. 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’s 50 day moving average is $17.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.05. The company has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12 month low of $15.51 and a 12 month high of $24.34.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 3.32%. On average, equities analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LEVI shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total transaction of $76,821.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 100,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,844,221.28. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.