The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,636,734 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,749 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $30,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,320,747 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $193,312,000 after acquiring an additional 342,009 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 462.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,839,861 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $89,489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979,223 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,243,680 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $88,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296,474 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,457,702 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $80,564,000 after purchasing an additional 294,053 shares during the period. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 2,219,599 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $46,034,000 after purchasing an additional 531,963 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Karyn Hillman sold 38,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.91, for a total transaction of $892,069.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 91,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,769.02. The trade was a 29.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 47,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $1,145,781.21. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,334,947 shares of company stock valued at $31,119,240. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.29.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Up 0.2%

LEVI opened at $24.59 on Friday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a twelve month low of $17.72 and a twelve month high of $25.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.00. The company has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.33.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 25.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. Levi Strauss & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Levi Strauss & Co. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.460-1.520 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.51%.

Levi Strauss & Co. Profile

Levi Strauss & Co is a global apparel company best known for its denim jeans and casual wear. Founded in 1853 in San Francisco by Bavarian immigrant Levi Strauss, the company pioneered the modern blue jean with the introduction of rivet-reinforced work pants. Over its more than 160-year history, Levi Strauss has evolved into a lifestyle brand, offering a broad portfolio that includes denim for men, women and children, as well as tops, outerwear, footwear and accessories.

The company’s flagship label, Levi’s®, is recognized worldwide for its iconic styles such as the 501® Original Fit Jeans, while additional brands, including Dockers®, Target core metric, and Denizen® by Levi’s, cater to diverse price points and consumer segments.