Fox Run Management L.L.C. Buys Shares of 66,170 Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 66,170 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,372,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEVI. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 260.5% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,121 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 140.7% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,425 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 133.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,286 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 1,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $117,000. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEVI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, major shareholder Robert D. Haas sold 5,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.00, for a total transaction of $139,968.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Harmit J. Singh sold 121,767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.52, for a total transaction of $2,863,959.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 148,757 shares in the company, valued at $3,498,764.64. This trade represents a 45.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 783,154 shares of company stock worth $17,630,460 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $23.04 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.34. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $16.50 and a 1-year high of $24.82.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 25.35%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 22nd. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 35.67%.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

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.