Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Major Shareholder Sells $1,207,000.00 in Stock

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) major shareholder Margaret Haas sold 50,000 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.14, for a total transaction of $1,207,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEVI opened at $24.41 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $21.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.83. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12 month low of $12.17 and a 12 month high of $24.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.30.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.09. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 28.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. Levi Strauss & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 87.6% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 53,967 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 25,197 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the first quarter worth about $402,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 143.6% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 29,479 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 17,376 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the first quarter worth about $3,259,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 6.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,639,565 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $26,856,000 after acquiring an additional 97,781 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LEVI shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company 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.