Insider Selling: Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Director Sells $265,375.00 in Stock

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Director David A. Friedman sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total value of $265,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 187,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,980,794.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

LEVI stock opened at $22.00 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.13. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12-month low of $12.41 and a 12-month high of $22.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 70.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.19.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 3rd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 20.68% and a net margin of 2.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 8th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 154.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 21.5% in the third quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 1,690 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $215,000. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $223,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the third quarter worth about $195,000. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the first quarter worth about $294,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LEVI shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.56.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

Levi Strauss & Co designs, markets, and sells apparels and related accessories for men, women, and children worldwide. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, activewears, tops, shorts, skirts, dresses, jumpsuits, shirts, sweaters, jackets, footwear, and related accessories under the Levi's, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co, Denizen, and Beyond Yoga brands.