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

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,966 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $105,000. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $74,988.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 104,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 16,664 shares of company stock valued at $301,785 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LEVI opened at $18.32 on Friday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $15.62 and a 52-week high of $24.34. The firm 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its earnings results 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LEVI. UBS Group dropped their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.