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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total value of $76,821.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available at the SEC website.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE:LEVI traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $19.22. 1,646,848 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,205,343. Levi Strauss & Co. has a twelve month low of $15.62 and a twelve month high of $24.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $17.61 and a 200 day moving average of $18.17. The stock has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.17.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,415,000. Olympiad Research LP bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $348,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 132,942 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $2,300,000 after purchasing an additional 24,536 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $325,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $115,000. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Barclays decreased their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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, Telsey Advisory Group decreased 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.27.

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.