Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Major Shareholder Sells $3,628,500.00 in Stock

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) major shareholder E. Haas Jr. Family Fund Peter sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $3,628,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

LEVI stock opened at $24.41 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.83. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $12.17 and a 1-year high of $24.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were given a $0.14 dividend. This is a boost from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 54.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research lowered Levi Strauss & Co. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Bank of America raised their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 32,839 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,109 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 101.5% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,210 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,297 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

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.